UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jan Blachowicz has revealed what middleweight king Israel Adesanya has to do to secure a rematch for the 205-pound gold.
After Jon Jones relinquished his title in pursuit of a move up to heavyweight, Blachowicz found himself fighting for the belt at UFC 253 last September. The Polish behemoth had secured his place in the vacant championship matchup with a three-fight win streak that includes victories over Luke Rockhold, Ronaldo Souza, and Corey Anderson.
While many expected former title challenger Dominick Reyes to leave Abu Dhabi with the strap, it was Blachowicz who finished “The Devastator” in the second round and reached the light heavyweight mountaintop. Despite the victory, the veteran was arguably still underrated leading into his first title defense, which came against Adesanya.
“The Last Stylebender” hadn’t lost in the cage, and most anticipated the crowning of the UFC’s latest two-division champion at UFC 259 this year. Instead, Blachowicz added the first blemish to the Nigerian-New Zealander’s record. After five rounds, the 38-year-old defended his gold via unanimous decision.
Jan Blachowicz Updates Requirements For Adesanya Rematch
Despite a largely comfortable victory for the 205-pound champ, the idea of a future rematch has floated around ever since. Given Adesanya’s dominance at middleweight, which has seen him accumulate wins over Robert Whittaker, Marvin Vettori, Yoel Romero, Paulo Costa, and Derek Brunson, a second attempt at reaching the pinnacle of another division seems likely in the future.
In the aftermath of their headlining clash in March, Blachowicz claimed “The Last Stylebender” would have to defeat a top-10 light heavyweight to secure a second meeting in the Octagon with him. During a recent interview with SCMP MMA, the Warsaw-born star updated the conditions for a future rematch, suggesting Adesanya would have to have his hand raised against two or three in the division before fighting for the title again.
“Yeah, why not? It’s possible. But first of all, if you go through my category, now he have to do some fights, you know? Not, ‘OK, I go try again.’ Not for the title. First of all, he need to beat maybe two, three guys in 205, and then maybe then they give him chance for the title. But not immediately.”
Of course, the booking of a rematch all hinges on Blachowicz remaining on the light heavyweight throne. The next challenge to his place on it will come at UFC 267 on October 30. In Abu Dhabi, the Pole will look to defend his title against Brazilian veteran Glover Teixeira.
Should he defeat the 41-year-old, the potential future challenges of Jiří Procházka, Aleksandar Rakić, and Anthony Smith look set to keep Blachowicz occupied until another outside interference into the light heavyweight title picture.
Would you like to see Jan Blachowicz and Israel Adesanya rematch for the light heavyweight title?
