The highly anticipated return of Jan Blachowicz is going to take a little longer than expected.
Earlier this month, the former light heavyweight champion withdrew from his UFC 297 rematch with Aleksandar Rakic to undergo shoulder surgery. As it turns out, one procedure wasn’t enough to clear up all the damage he’s sustained over the years.
“First shoulder operated on,” Blachowicz wrote on social media. “Unfortunately, there was too much work to do with one, so they couldn’t fix both at once. Another surgery soon. I’ll have to wait a little longer to come back. I wish you all Merry Christmas!”
First shoulder operated on. Unfortunately, there was too much work to do with one, so they couldn't fix both at once. Another surgery soon. I'll have to wait a little longer to come back.
I wish you all Merry Christmas! pic.twitter.com/RDIIxDSBgm
— Jan Blachowicz (@JanBlachowicz) December 23, 2023
Fans Believe It’s Time For Jan Blachowicz to Hang Up His Gloves
It’s certainly not a good sign for Blachowicz who is already on the wrong side of 40 and will likely experience another birthday before stepping back inside the Octagon.
Fans took to the comments section on Instagram, suggesting that Blachowicz’s career could very well be over after having to endure such a procedure at his age.
“Wow double shoulder surgery at 40 it might be over.”
“Damn bruh that’s a career ended dawg.”
“Bro is 40 retire.”
“Damn maybe he should hang the gloves up he had an amazing career.”
“Bro, please just retire.. you’ve done enough, he was a good champ though.”
Still, Blachowicz has proven himself to be one of the best 205’ers of all time, holding wins over the likes of Luke Rockhold, ‘Jacare’ Souza, Dominick Reyes, and Israel Adesanya. In his last outing, he came up short against Alex Pereira, suffering a closely contested split decision.
‘Poatan’ moved on to claim the light heavyweight title at UFC 295.
Blachowicz earned a victory over Rakic in May 2022 after the Austrian-born fighter suffered a leg injury early in the third round. Rakic has since booked a fight with former world champion Jiri Prochazka at UFC 300 on April 13 following the Polish powerhouse’s withdrawal.
Take a look back at some of Jan Blachowicz’s greatest highlights below:
