"I did everything I could" - Jan Blachowicz breaks silence after pulling out of UFC 297 fight against Aleksandar Rakic

Jan Blachowicz recently broke his silence on pulling out of his bout against Aleksandar Rakic, which was scheduled to take place at UFC 297 on January 20 in Toronto, Canada.

The former UFC light heavyweight champion took to his Instagram account, where he shared an update for fans regarding his status for UFC 297. He mentioned that he regrettably made the decision to withdraw from the event due to an injury he sustained during training.

He wrote:

"It wasn't supposed to be this way. It's hard to express how I feel because it’s a mixture of anger and sadness. Withdrawing from a fight due to injury is one of the most difficult decisions a fighter can make. However, sometimes there is no other option, especially when you are competing in the TOP 5 and want to put on a show at the highest possible level."

Jan Blachowicz further noted that he had been in pain throughout his training as he attempted to grind through the injury. However, he mentioned that a surgery is required and withdrew from the bout because it would have been an irresponsible risk to compete at UFC 297 with a compromised shoulder, writing:

"Instead of fighting for the best shape, I fight with the pain during every training session. I did everything I could, but my shoulders need surgery. In this state, continuing preparations and entering the Octagon would be irresponsible and stupid."

It remains to be seen how long Jan Blachowicz will be out of action as he still remains in the title picture at 205 lbs.

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What happened when Jan Blachowicz fought Aleksandar Rakic?

Jan Blachowicz and Aleksandar Rakic are no strangers to each other, as they had competed against one another once before.

Their first encounter took place in the main event of UFC Vegas 54 last May. At the time, Blachowicz was competing for the first time since his light heavyweight title loss to Glover Teixeira, while Rakic was riding a two-fight winning streak.

The former light heavyweight champion found success with his leg kicks, which resulted in a third-round TKO win after 'Rocket' was unable to continue as he also suffered a torn ACL prior to the fight.