In 2020, Jan Blachowicz officially won the championship Light Heavyweight UFC After defeating Dominick Reyes. It was his 35th MMA match and 13 years after its debut was a professional boxer.
In UFC history, Randy Couture is the oldest case (45 years old) who became the UFC champion. Now we have once again witnessed the late bloom of another boxer, Jan Blachowicz. True to the older the ginger, the more spicy, Blachowicz became the second oldest champion ever at the age of 37.
Jan Blachowicz has a pretty thorny start in the career of boxers UFC. He lost four of the first six matches, including defeats against Alexander Gustafsson, Corey Anderson and Jimi Manuwa. With just one more loss, Blachowicz can be completely eliminated at UFC.
However, he won, starting a non -stop revival with an achievement of 8 wins in 9 matches on the path to the title of Light Heavyweight at UFC.
So how can a man who is considered a “powerful legend in Poland” can turn his fall in UFC so dizzy?
Dorota Jurkowska: The solid rear of Jan Blachowicz
It is undeniable that Jan Blachowic's existing success is partly thanks to the great merits of his girlfriend, Dorota Jurkowska, now the fiancée of this Polish boxer.
In the middle of April 8, 2017, Jurkowska sat dully in front of a computer screen in his house in Warsaw, Poland. Her face showed anxiety and pale as if she was sick. She couldn't sleep until the next day.
Dorota Jurkowska has just witnessed his boyfriend (currently fiancé), Jan Blachowicz, suffered another defeat at UFC. It was a defeat against Patrick Cummins in the framework of an event in Buffalo, New York, marking Blachowicz's fourth defeat in the last five appearances and dropped his UFC achievement to 2 wins.
“God, I think he will be fired. Seriously,” Jurkowska said worriedly. “I thought that the email that UFC sent was to inform that Blachowicz was fired. I sent an email to Mick Maynard immediately. We exchanged a lot of emails that night. It was a difficult night.”
Of course, Jurkowska could not predict what would happen to Blachowicz when she had helped him justify UFC nearly four years ago, with the simple purpose of leaving UFC to keep his name in the list of boxers. Looking back, she admitted that her defense was not too convincing. Bluchowicz matches in UFC are very intense, but the result of 2-4 is undeniable.
“I really begged them, people at UFC, giving Jan another chance,” Jurkowska recalled. “I told them that Jan was a big star in Poland, and I knew they wanted to organize an event in Poland. I told them, 'he needs to be on the list!' That was my last argument so he wouldn't be fired. ”
Jurkowska's efforts were successful. UFC held an event in October 2017 in Gdansk City, Northern Poland. The merchanda has grafted Blichowicz with a promising star, Devin Clark, who was achieving 8-1 at that time. Blachowicz is sure that just losing this match he will have to leave UFC forever.
However, entering the octagonal cage that night, Blachowicz has never been more confident.
“Before that war, I began to believe that the good things would happen again,” Blachowicz said. “I have a fire burning in me. I know, 'This is not the end. I can't end the adventure like this.' I know I have to win the match and prove myself that I can still do better. ”
Eight victories and a UFC title later, Blachowicz proved to himself what he always believed: he could defeat anyone. It was just the “rest” of the world that was too late to realize this.
Jan Blachowicz: The person of action rather than words
UFC president shared with BT Sport at the end of 2020 that he wanted a match between Jon Jones and Israel Adesanya in 2021. For that match to take place, there would be a lot of great obstacles, and one of them was Blachowicz. Adesanya needs to defeat Blachowicz at UFC 259 Before confronting Jon Jones.
The general martial arts world does not completely despise Blachowicz – people recognize that he is good – but it is likely that Blachowicz does not receive enough respect. As of last month, Blachowicz was the only UFC champion who did not receive any votes in the Pound-For-Pound rankings of ESPN.
“This war will be a good opportunity for everyone to know Jan and he will eventually receive the inherent respect for him,” Jurkowska shared.
“Even when he became a champion, he was still a black horse and a breakthrough chance. It was my own thought, but Jan started to have the same view.
Blachowicz did not have many supporters, but his fans were fiercely protected and followed him. “He has never been our biggest star. His skill makes him a top martial artist, but his fame is not. He is not a good self -media. He doesn't say too much. He is not a gimmick.”
The problem for Blachowicz and perhaps the reason he is often overlooked until today is his polite, quiet manner with a less fortunate start in his UFC career. For a fighter, they may not need to be a big point, but they need to influence, especially when Jan Blachowicz has only 2-4 in the first six UFC matches.
Jan Blachowicz – Miracle
Since Blachowicz defeated Dominick Reyes and won the championship at UFC 253, his popularity skyrocketed in Poland. Everyone realized who he was and respect him.
The small town of Cieszyn, where Blachowic grew up, held a big celebration when he returned. He received an invitation to meet Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and was recorded in the list of the most famous Polish athletes in 2020.
In the UFC 259 match held in March in Las Vegas, although under the mechanical assessment compared to an Israeli Adesanya with a remarkable achievement, Jan Blachowicz has shown that the weight limit is not easy to overcome. Affirming the advantage of “bigger and healthier”, after the first 3 rounds of struggling with Adesanya, Blachowicz was completely overwhelming in the last half to win the final point.
However, for Blachowicz, the victory over Adesanya involved in recognition, money and reputation rather than competition. When he launched a professional MMA in 2007, he came here to find the challenge. It is still his motivation during KSW and finally during the time with UFC.