Jan Blachowicz won’t be facing Israel Adesanya at light heavyweight again unless Adesanya earns the rematch to his satisfaction.
Jan Blachowicz is still basking in the afterglow of arguably the biggest victory of his career over Israel Adesanya at UFC 259. There were many questions about what to expect from the middleweight champion coming into the bout and how he would look competing in a different weight class for the first time in his MMA career. For at least one key figure, Adesanya lived up exactly to expectations while the thrill of victory exceeded them.
“He was completely what we expect. He does everything that we thought he was going to do,” Blachowicz told MMA Fighting in an interview released Monday. “Two things was different. I thought that he would be a little bit faster than he was but also he was a little bit stronger than I think he will be. Those were the things that I expected. But the rest of the things was exactly what we expected he was going to be.
“I feel even much better than when I beat Dominick Reyes,” Blachowicz offered. “Because now I proved that I’m a real champion. I deserve this belt. I not only get this belt but I defended this belt. It tastes a little bit better. I’m just proud. It tastes a little bit better than when I won against Dominick Reyes.”
Jan Blachowicz Sets Forth Condition For Adesanya Rematch
If Adesanya wants to stare across the Octagon at Jan Blachowicz again someday, it won’t be as easy simply making the move up again as a champion in another division. According to Blachowicz, he will need to prove his value at light heavyweight if he is going to grant “The Last Stylebender” another opportunity at the world title.
“I think if he would 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,” Blachowicz said.
Israel Adesanya’s team has disclosed that a rematch against Blachowicz does interest them down the line, but what they may not have considered is that a condition would be pushed forward that must be fulfilled before the champion agrees to it.
Do you think Israel Adesanya would be willing to win one fight at light heavyweight before receiving a rematch against Jan Blachowicz?
