"Lucky place for me" - Jan Blachowicz is relishing the chance to return to Fight Island
Jan Blachowicz is excited to return to UFC Fight Island in Abu Dhabi, UAE, where he won the coveted UFC light heavyweight title. The Polish MMA stalwart believes the Fight Island is “lucky” for him.
Blachowicz captured the vacant UFC light heavyweight belt with a second-round TKO win over Dominick Reyes at UFC 253. The fight transpired on Fight Island in September 2020.
During an appearance on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, reigning UFC light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz opened up on multiple topics.
Ariel Helwani asked Jan Blachowicz whether it was nice to return to the place he won the title and whether it brings back happy memories. Blachowicz responded by stating:
“I cannot wait. I cannot wait, you know. It’s a lucky place for me. I feel great over there. So, yeah, in Saturday, we’re gonna be there. So, you know, one week before the fight because of the climate. But it’s just two hours’ difference (between Poland and UAE), so nothing for me. But yeah, I cannot wait to be there again, you know. And I would start to remind (remember) what happened over there. And I hope so it’s gonna be lucky place for me forever, to the end of my life, you know, and defend my title over there.”
Helwani also asked Jan Blachowicz whether he’d prefer fighting on UFC Fight Island in Abu Dhabi, UAE, rather than in Las Vegas. The 38-year old replied by suggesting that he loves competing in Vegas as well and would have no problem going back there.
You can watch Jan Blachowicz’s conversation with Ariel Helwani in the video below:
Jan Blachowicz faces a crafty veteran at UFC 267
Jan Blachowicz successfully defended his UFC light heavyweight title earlier this year in a champion vs. champion super-fight against reigning UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya.
The fight took place at UFC 259 in Las Vegas, Nevada, in March of this year. The fight saw Jan Blachowicz hand ‘Izzy’ the first loss of his professional MMA career, beating the middleweight kingpin via unanimous decision.
Presently, Jan Blachowicz is looking to defend his 205-pound title for the second time, as he’s set to fight widely revered veteran MMA competitor Glover Teixeira at UFC 267 on October 30th.