While the UFC‘s schedule for 2024 only has one more card left, this Saturday night’s UFC Tampa from Amalie Arena, the home venue of the NHL‘s Tampa Bay Lightning, Dana White and his staff are already hard at work putting together fights for next year.
Jan Blachowicz (29-10-1 MMA, 12-7-1 UFC) will soon be back in action. He hasn’t made the walk to the famous Octagon since July of last year during UFC 291 versus current UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Alex “Poatan” Pereira (12-2 MMA, 9-1 UFC) in a three-round affair. He came away empty-handed by way of split decision.
After, he was slated to make a return to the cage at the top of 2024 against Aleksandar Rakic (14-5 MMA, 6-4 UFC) during UFC 297 from Scotiabank Arena in Toronto on Jan. 20. This would have been a rematch between the two men, having squared off against one another in May of 2022 , with Blachowicz winning by third-round TKO after Rakic was unable to continue due to a leg injury.
Jan Blachowicz Returns to Cage This March
Prior to the fight taking place, Jan Blachowicz would be forced out of action due to needing a left shoulder surgery in March of 2024, after having had an operation on his right shoulder in December of 2023.
https://twitter.com/JanBlachowicz/status/1738528075988541938/
Tuesday afternoon, his comeback was announced. During the March 22 UFC London card from 02 Arena, he’ll fight against Carlos Ulberg (11-1 MMA, 7-1 UFC).
The UFC made this pairing official on its social media feeds earlier Tuesday. Subsequent to the fight between Jan Blachowicz and Carlos Ulberg being announced, a heavyweight fight pitting Marcin Tybura (26-9 MMA, 13-8 UFC) and Mick Parkin (10-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC) was also revealed to be taking place on March 22.
https://twitter.com/ufc/status/1866559004924842388/
As per the terms of the fight contract, both fights announced to occur during the card will be an advertised maximum of three rounds at five minutes per round.
Jan Blachowicz Steps Into Octagon for First Fight in 20 Months
Heading into the fight versus Carlos Ulberg on March 22, Jan Blachowicz has posted a mark of 2-2-1 in his last five fights. Prior to the July 2023 contest against Alex Pereira, he had been on a two-fight unbeaten streak, eking out a split draw after five rounds against Magomed Ankalaev (20-1-1, 1 NC MMA, 11-1-1, 1 NC UFC) during UFC 282’s main event, resulting in the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship remaining a vacant title for another month.
The 205-lb. championship would be claimed on Jan. 21, 2023 by Jamahal Hill (12-2, 1 NC MMA, 6-2, 1 NC UFC), a 2019 graduate of Dana White’s Contender Series in its first season on ESPN+, via unanimous decision after five rounds over Glover Teixeira (33-9 MMA, 16-7 UFC) during UFC 283.
Earlier this year, Jan Blachowicz talked about his recovery from surgery with James Lynch. At that time, he targeted a return to the cage at the end of the current year. He had no plans to end this current chapter of his life with the operations.
“If I wanted to finish my career, I would not do the surgeries,” Blachowicz said, “In normal life, I can do almost everything, so if I wanted to finish my career, I will not do this.”
Ulberg Coming In Hot
In the other corner, Carlos Ulberg enters this fight against Jan Blachowicz just after the spring equinox having gone undefeated at 5-0 in his last five contests. All told, he’s currently on a seven-fight winning streak dating back to February of 2022.
Right before the Thanksgiving holiday inside the United States, he scored a unanimous decision victory over Volkan Oezdemir (20-8 MMA, 8-7 UFC), a veteran of Bellator MMA, during UFC Macau on Nov. 23. In the aftermath of the fight against Oezdemir a few weeks ago, Ulberg rose three spots in the pecking order at 205 lbs.
He’ll be coming into the tilt with Jan Blachowicz on March 22 at No. 7 in the division. With Ulberg not having lost in over three years by the time the fight rolls around on the first weekend of spring, another victory could spell a stint inside the top-5 at 205 for him.
Only time will tell, however, if he’s going to be able to get past a tough opponent in the form of Jan Blachowicz.
Final Thoughts
If you haven’t yet gotten out your 2025 calendar, flip ahead to the March page and go to the Saturday column. Make certain to circle March 22 on there and write down “UFC London: Jan Blachowicz vs. Carlos Ulberg at O2 Arena.” You are not going to want to miss this one.
