Respect for Jan Blachowicz
By Eddie Sanchez
Jan Blachowicz, the Light Heavyweight champ, represented his veteran skill set and proved he is a true champion. The Polish star successfully defended his belt against the heavily-favored Israel Adesanya, who was attempting to become the fifth fighter in UFC history to hold two belts concurrently.
With Jan clearly smelling his roses post-fight, Izzy shared the following humbling comments: “It didn’t go exactly the way I wanted it to go, but dare to be great,” Adesanya said.
“You know, the critics are the ones on the sideline, but I’m the one putting it on the line.” If I was gonna lose to anyone, I’m glad I lost to him. Credit to him. He’s a great champion.”
As much as I respect the humble approach, it’s interesting to note that Izzy entered the fight supremely confident, almost dismissing Jan as a legitimate challenge, but of course he learned that day! Confidence is important, if not necessary for athletes, but based on his demeanor pre-fight, it seemed he shared little concern for his rival.
As for Jan Blachowicz, he now has earned the respect of the entire MMA community. He is 9-1 in his last ten fights, which includes him being listed as the underdog in four out of his last five consecutive victories.
Scanning his resume, you will find as solid of a list as you can ask for in terms of competition. It’s ironic that for the majority of casual fans, he will have finally earned their respect after defeating an undersized man moving up in weight to challenge him. Regardless of how he got to this point though, it is well deserved and there is a big fight with Glover Teixeira on the horizon.
The 41 year old Brazillian is on his own five fight winning streak where he most recently submitted Thiago Santos. He is as game as ever and this should be an interesting fight.
The dominating punching power and strength disparity, which led to three takedowns, was especially apparent in the Blachowicz vs Adesanya matchup. This should not be the case against Glover Teixeira.
Glover is highly skilled on the ground and is not shy in regards to mixing it up in close range. I expect both men to respect each other’s takedown defense and mix in some phone-booth action.
Jan Blachowicz defeated Dominick Reyes, the man many thought gave Jon Jones his greatest scare, to win his title. He defeated Israel Adesanya, the number three pound for pound fighter in the world, to further legitimize his title. Soon he will have the opportunity to defeat a legend in the game and as fans, we are all here for it.
