Jan Blachowicz reveals what Israel Adesanya must do to land a light heavyweight title rematch against him
Jan Blachowicz may be considered amongst the best pound-for-pound athletes the sport has ever produced since his recent victory against Israel Adesanya at UFC 259.
Entering the contest as a sizeable underdog, Jan Blachowicz silenced all doubters when he successfully defended his light heavyweight title against 'The Last Stylebender'. This was Blachowicz's first title defense since he TKO'd Dominick Reyes in the co-main event of UFC 253 to earn the title.
In a recent interview, Jan Blachowicz weighed in on a possible rematch with 'Izzy' in the light heavyweight division. According to the Pole, the UFC middleweight champion needs to defeat someone in the top 10 of the light heavyweight division to be considered for a rematch. In an interview with MMA Fighting, Jan Blachowicz told Damon Martin:
"Yes, of course, if he wants to come back to our division or stay in this division. Of course the rematch may be in the future but first of all he needs to win against someone from top 10 and then maybe the rematch."
Israel Adesanya got his shot at the light heavyweight title ahead of top contenders in the division. However, Adesanya's bid to be a two-division champion was foiled by Jan Blachowicz in the matchup of champions at UFC 259.
Since then, Adesanya's coach, Eugene Bareman, has revealed that the New Zealand-born Nigerian will return to defend his middleweight title. Bareman also added that Isarel Adesanya is only interested in a matchup against Darren Till or a rematch against Robert Whittaker.
Jan Blachowicz demands respect after UFC 259
Jan Blachowicz is tired of being seen as an underdog despite victories in 9 of his last 10 outings. Though the light heavyweight champion doesn't care about betting odds, he believes that a fair share of respect is certainly due for him.
After his win against Isarel Adesanya at UFC 259, Jan Blachowicz told reporters in a post-fight interview:
“I defended my belt. Now I prove that I’m a true champion and I think now I’m going to have respect from everybody. In the next fight, I will not be the underdog anymore. But I don’t care anyway.”