Jan Blachowicz is eager to return to the title picture and reclaim his status as a UFC champion.
The former UFC light heavyweight titleholder has faced some of the division's toughest opponents and now aims to remind fans of his legacy.
Błachowicz captured the vacant title at UFC 253 with a dominant TKO win over Dominick Reyes, a display that earned him a Performance of the Night bonus. He successfully defended his belt against then-middleweight champion Israel Adesanya at UFC 259 before losing the title to Glover Teixeira at UFC 267.
Later, at UFC 282, he fought Magomed Ankalaev for the vacant title, ending in a draw. And he most recently came up short against current light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira before "Poatan" became the champion at UFC 291. The contest ended in a narrow split decision loss for the Polish veteran.
On March 22 this year, Blachowicz will face Carlos Ulberg at UFC London, determined to reassert himself in the division. Speaking with MMA Fighting, the former champ expressed his desire to make a statement.
I want to remind people how tough I am,” Blachowicz said. “Because I think people forget that I won against Alex Pereira. He just won because the referee helped him, in my opinion. I have a draw with (Magomed) Ankalaev — those are the most dangerous fighters in our division right now. I think people just forgot about me.
Blachowicz attributed some of the lack of recognition to his inactivity.
I’m not surprised because I stopped. One and a half years, I’m not fighting so this is where I will remind them about the legendary Polish power to the people in the whole world.
Despite his respect for Ulberg, Blachowicz is already setting his sights on a rematch with Pereira.
Of course, I have a lot of respect for him and what he’s done but this doesn’t change anything,” Błachowicz explained. “I want a rematch against him and after this fight — I’m focused on this fight right now — but if I win and I believe I’m going to win the fight, the next one will be against him. I deserve this rematch, like nobody else in this division.