UFC Light heavyweight champion, Jan Blachowicz is set to make the second defence of his 205lbs title against Brazillian, Glover Teixeira at UFC 266 in September. Speaking to Brett Okamoto, UFC president Dana White confirmed the news on Wednesday.
We knew this fight was next for Jan Blachowicz and it was simply a matter of time until it was announced. As of yet, only this fight has been announced for the event and no venue has been confirmed.
Jan Blachowicz will defend his light heavyweight title against Glover Teixeira at UFC 266 on Sept. 4, Dana White told @bokamotoESPN. pic.twitter.com/335cYRsHgf
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) April 14, 2021
Jan Blachowicz
The champion, Jan Blachowicz is coming off the biggest win of his career. He became the first person in MMA to defeat Israel Adesanya. At UFC 259, Blachowicz surprised the bookies to defeat Adesanya by a unanimous decision, utilising his wrestling in the final two rounds to secure the victory.
Prior to this, Jan Blachowicz brutally knocked out Dominick Reyes at UFC 253 to capture the light heavyweight belt. Reyes entered the bout with a point to prove after dropping a razor-close decision to Jon Jones in a previous title attempt. Blachowicz also ended the UFC career of Corey Anderson, leaning on the legendary ‘Polish power’ to knock ‘Overtime’ out in just over three minutes of their headlining bout.
Other than a TKO loss at the hands of Thiago Santos, Jan Blachowicz hasn’t tasted defeat since 2017, enjoying nine wins. With a well-rounded game, Blachowicz is a problem for anyone at 205lbs.
Glover Teixeira
Looking to solve the ‘Jan Blachowicz’ problem is the former title challenger, Glover Teixeira. The 19 year MMA veteran is more than deserving of a title shot, notching up a five-fight winning run.
On his winning run, he’s finished four fights, including wins over Thiago Santos, Anthony Smith, Ion Cutelaba and Karl Roberson. Following finishes in back-to-back main events, Teixeira is finally getting his well-deserved title shot.
UFC 266 won’t mark the first time the Brazillian has challenged for gold. Way back in 2014, he squared off against the young Jon Jones at UFC 172. Although he was dominated on the night, Teixeira never gave up on his dream and is now realising another title shot at age 41. With solid boxing and a slick ground game, he could certainly cause the champion problems. Early odds do have him as a +155 underdog, however.
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