'I can beat him at 205' - Jan Blachowicz warns Jon Jones against returning to the light heavyweight division
Jan Blachowicz has warned Jon Jones against returning to the light heavyweight division.
UFC light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz is coming off a unanimous decision win against UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya in their super-fight that was contested at light heavyweight.
In his victory at UFC 259 (March 6th, 2021), not only did Blachowicz successfully defend his title, but he also handed Adesanya the latter’s first loss in the sport of MMA.
During an interview with RT Sport MMA, Jan Blachowicz spoke about why he's not afraid of facing Jon Jones and the prospect of defending his belt against Glover Teixeira next –
“You know, I can meet him at 205 or at heavyweight. I don't care. So I'm just waiting, you know, for the next fight, for the next decision. If the UFC gives me you know, Jon Jones I would be happy. If not, I'll be happy with my next opponent.”
“I think my next opponent will be Glover Teixeira but we will see. But if Jon Jones he would like come back to…if but you know, I think he will stay at the heavyweight. But if he changed his mind. I mean, I'm waiting for him. No problem.”
Jan Blachowicz also explained that although he previously didn’t understand why Jon Jones was moving to heavyweight, he does now.
“You know, I understand him you know. He do almost everything at 205. Almost. Because he don’t fight against me. That’s why he do almost everything," Blachowicz said.
“And I understand his decision because I think he knew that when he gonna fight against me he's gonna lose this fight you know so he do this decision ‘okay now I go to heavyweight, if I go to heavyweight, if I lose in heavyweight you know no problem because you know I will no stop talking okay but that was not my weight’.”
Furthermore, Jan Blachowicz suggested that he’d likely end his career at heavyweight. This, in turn, could make a potential fight between him and Jon Jones a realistic possibility in the future.
Jan Blachowicz, Francis Ngannou, and several other dangerous challenges await Jon Jones in the UFC
Prior to UFC 260, Jon Jones had consistently expressed his interest in facing the winner of the UFC heavyweight title fight between Francis Ngannou and Stipe Miocic. Regardless, the aftermath of UFC 260 has witnessed Jones being involved in a heated public feud against Dana White and the UFC.
The combat sports world is abuzz with speculation as to how the MMA icon, Jones, would fare at heavyweight. Dangerous challenges like Jan Blachowicz at light heavyweight and Francis Ngannou at heavyweight await Jones. Jones had confirmed that he’d love to fight Ngannou, but only if he’s paid well for the fight.