Jan Blachowicz

Overview

Five straight wins in 2019 and 2020, then a run of five losses and two draws in his last nine UFC fights. Jan Blachowicz is a light heavyweight with a 12-9-2 UFC record (29-12-2 across all promotions), and his career has two clear halves.

The first half ended with a main-event win over Israel Adesanya at UFC 259, a five-round unanimous decision. The second has been a grind. He carries a three-fight losing streak into his next fight, the last of them a first-round KO/TKO loss to Navajo Stirling.

Still, the peak is on the record, not in a highlight reel. Two of his UFC wins came against opponents our model tiers as elite.

UFC Career

Blachowicz debuted in October 2014 with a first-round KO/TKO of Ilir Latifi in 1:58. Then came the rough patch: four losses in his next five fights, all by unanimous decision, including defeats to Jimi Manuwa and Alexander Gustafsson.

The rebuild started in late 2017. He beat Devin Clark by second-round submission, took decisions over Jared Cannonier and Manuwa, and submitted Nikita Krylov in the second round. A third-round KO/TKO loss to Thiago Santos in a main event interrupted it, but what followed was the best stretch of his career: Luke Rockhold by second-round KO/TKO, a five-round split decision over Ronaldo Souza, then a first-round stoppage of Corey Anderson, Dominick Reyes in the second, and the Adesanya decision.

That was five in a row, his longest UFC win streak.

Glover Teixeira ended it with a second-round submission in a main event. Blachowicz answered by stopping Aleksandar Rakic in the third round of another headliner. Then a five-round split draw with Magomed Ankalaev.

Since then: a split-decision loss to Alex Pereira, a unanimous decision loss to Carlos Ulberg, a majority draw with Bogdan Guskov, and the knockout loss to Navajo Stirling.

Six of his nine UFC losses went to the scorecards.

Fighting Style

Jan Blachowicz is a striker who is hard to hit and accurate when he lands. He takes fewer shots than most fighters in the UFC and connects at a sharp rate, while his output volume and overall defense sit around the UFC average.

On the mat, he rarely shoots for takedowns and attempts few submissions, but he is very hard to take down. That makes him tough to put on his back.

He is not purely a knockout artist. Two of his seven UFC finishes came by submission, both in round two. The other five were KO/TKOs, spread from round one to round three. Five of his 12 wins went to the judges.

Notable Wins

• Israel Adesanya — unanimous decision, round 5, UFC 259 (2021)
• Ronaldo Souza — split decision, round 5, UFC Fight Night: Blachowicz vs. Jacare (2019)
• Luke Rockhold — KO/TKO, round 2, UFC 239 (2019)
• Aleksandar Rakic — KO/TKO, round 3, UFC Fight Night: Blachowicz vs. Rakic (2022)

Quick Facts

• Division: Light Heavyweight
• UFC record: 12-9-2
• Professional record (all promotions): 29-12-2
• UFC debut: 2014
• Stance: Orthodox
• Height / reach: 6'2" / 78"
• Team: Ankos MMA - Zapaśniczy 67, Warszawa
• Born: Cieszyn, Poland