Veteran MMA fighter Jan Blachowicz reacts to his vicious TKO loss to Navajo Stirling at UFC Belgrade

Jan Blachowicz has long been known for his resilience in the face of adversity and an incredible ability to bounce back from defeats. 

The Polish combatant -- fondly referred to by fight fans as the "Prince of Cieszyn" -- appears to have kept in line with his tradition of taking setbacks in his stride. Blachowicz has taken to social media to put forth his reaction to his recent MMA defeat. 

Jan Blachowicz vs. Navajo Stirling at UFC Belgrade came about from a butterfly effect sparked by an injury

Jan Blachowicz was to take on Bogdan Guskov in a much-awaited light heavyweight rematch at UFC Belgrade on August 1. They'd done battle to a majority draw last December. 

However, the headlining match of the UFC Abu Dhabi card, booked for July 25, lost one half of its main event when Khalil Rountree Jr. withdrew due to an injury. 

The other half of the Abu Dhabi event's headlining match was ex-UFC light heavyweight champion Magomed Ankalaev. The UFC tried to get Blachowicz or Paulo Costa to face Ankalaev on short notice, but that wasn't to be.

Guskov instead ended up fighting and losing to the Dagestani via TKO in a widely derided fight at UFC Abu Dhabi. Meanwhile, the undefeated Navajo Stirling was brought in to fight Blachowicz at UFC Belgrade. 

Jan Blachowicz seemingly channeled his inner Max Holloway in response to brutal KO loss to Navajo Stirling at UFC Belgrade

Although Navajo Stirling had minimal time to prepare, he put on what many deemed to be one of the most dominant performances anyone has against the veteran Jan Blachowicz. The City Kickboxing star pupil landed a thunderous right hand that knocked his Polish foe down. 

The Israel Adesanya protege swiftly followed Blachowicz to the mat, proceeding to land vicious punches and elbows. The hellacious ground-and-pound onslaught ended with Referee Marc Goddard waving the fight off at the 2:56-minute mark of round one, thereby making Stirling the winner via TKO. 

Blachowicz seemed dazed and was bleeding after finding himself on the wrong end of a brutal finish inside the octagon. Regardless, he soon got back to his feet and displayed mutual respect with Stirling. 

The bringer of the "Legendary Polish Power" took to X and posted a couple of photographs that gave netizens a look at the damage to his face. Blachowicz seemed to reference former UFC featherweight champion and ex-BMF titleholder Max Holloway's iconic catchphrase -- "It is what it is." 

In what was an apparent channeling of his inner Holloway, Blachowicz wrote, "It is what it is. Another one for the collection." 

His setback at UFC Belgrade marked yet another fight that, somehow or the other, didn't go his way. His last five octagon outings include a trio of defeats and a pair of draws. 

The 43-year-old last won back in 2022, as he notched a knee injury-induced TKO win against Aleksandar Rakic. Incidentally, Rakic made a victorious heavyweight divisional debut at UFC Belgrade. 

Check out Jan Blachowicz's X post comprising his statement and the photographs of his facial injuries below: 

It is what it is.
Another one for the collection. pic.twitter.com/iw0QYQrLBK

— Jan Blachowicz (@JanBlachowicz) August 2, 2026