Jan Blachowicz believes he deserves a rematch with Alex Pereira.
It’s been almost a year since fight fans saw the Polish powerhouse step inside the Octagon — his last appearance coming against the current light heavyweight champion at UFC 291. On that night, Blachowicz came up on the wrong side of a split decision against Pereira.
Since then, he has been laid up with a shoulder injury that required not one, but two surgeries to repair. Offering an update on his recovery during a conversation with James Lynch, Blachowicz revealed that he is still a few months away from full-time training, but believes a return to the Octagon before the end of the year is possible.
“Every day is a little bit better, but still I need more time to recover and to fix correctly, so I think my next fight will be at the end of the year, not earlier,” Blachowicz told Fanatics View. “For sure not earlier. I would like to [fight in November or December]. When my physio say, ‘Okay Jan, you can go to the gym and do hard sparring session,’ and then I will know everything, when I can call to UFC and tell them, ‘Okay I will be ready at this time,’ or maybe a little bit later.”
During his time away, Blachowicz has kept up on the happenings in his own division, including Alex Pereira’s vicious first-round knockout of former champion Jamahal Hill at the promotion’s landmark event, UFC 300.
“I put money on Alex, but I didn’t expect that he’d finish him so fast,” Blachowicz said. “That was very interesting and it was very impressive. I felt like he was going to win in this kind of way, but maybe in the second round, but not in the first round. The fight was very short, but [Pereira] controlled the whole minute-and-a-half or something like that. He was better. He’s a better fighter than Jamahal.
Jan Blachowicz may believe that Pereira is a better fighter than Jamahal Hill, but he’s still not convinced that ‘Poatan’ is a better fighter than himself — no matter what the judges say.
“He is not better fighter than me, and I believe that I deserve the rematch,” Blachowicz continued. “I prove when he fight against me, I still believe that I won this fight. Referee see different scores but I believe that I won this fight against him and I believe that I deserve for the rematch. He knocked out everybody, not me. When I come back, I believe that I can fight against him one more time.”
Jan Blachowicz is looking to return towards the end of the year, and believes he deserves a rematch against Alex Pereira:
"[Alex] is not better fighter than me, and I believe that I deserve the rematch… When he fight against me, I still believe that I won this fight.… pic.twitter.com/nr7m20ujt9
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) May 8, 2024
Jan Blachowicz Would Rather See Magomed Ankalaev Get the Next Shot at Pereira Over a Rematch with Jiri Prochazka
Also going down at UFC 300 was a high-stakes clash at 205 featuring former titleholder Jiri Prochazka and budding title contender Aleksandar Rakic.
After the first five minutes of their featured preliminary bout, Rakic appeared to have things well in hand after chopping down the Czech’s lead leg. However, Rakic’s gas tank was already running on empty going into the second stanza, allowing ‘BJP’ to turn up the heat and end things with another incredible knockout to add to his resume.
“I think Rakic wanted this fight too much,” Blachowicz said of Rakic’s performance. “He put everything that he got into the first round and we seen that he was a little bit tired in the second round and Jiri used it. But the first round was very good and very tough for both of them, but Jiri has a crazy style. He knows how to use it and he used it in the second round.”
Prochazka’s win appears to have put him in pole position for a rematch with Alex Pereira, leaving No. 2 ranked contender Magomed Ankalaev sitting out in the cold despite riding a 10-fight win streak under the UFC banner.
“I want to see fight Pereira against Ankalaev because [Ankalaev] is the hardest opponent for [Pereira] right now because I’m not in the division because I’m out [with injury] for a couple more months,” Blachowicz said. “So [Ankalaev] is the most dangerous fight for [Pereira]. I would like to see this fight and then after this fight, he can go to heavyweight, but when I come back to fighting, he has to give me the rematch.”
Watch the full interview below:
