Jan Blachowicz opens up on brutal injury that sidelined him after Alex Pereira fight: "I thought I wasn't coming back"

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz recently opened up about his absense from the octagon, revealing he has been battling with significant injuries to both of his shoulders.

The 42-year-old hasn't fought since he faced Alex Pereira in the Brazilian's 205-pound divison debut at UFC 291 back in 2023. 'Poatan' won the fight via split decision, and while Blachowicz had hoped to return to the octagon quickly to bounce back from the loss, he found himself fighting to even return to the sport.

The Polish international recently appeared on The Ariel Helwani Show, during which he was asked why he has been away from the octagon for almost two years.

Jan Blachowicz revealed he had undergone surgeries to both his shoulders and thought his MMA career might be over. He said:

"I had two surgeries, left shoulder and right shoulder. The rehabilitation was very long, very tough. I didn't expect it was going to be so long and so tough. I've had a couple of surgeries in my life but this was definitely the worst. I think then I'm not coming back. I was so close that I almost said, f*ck it. Finally, I wake up one day and I feel that it was ok."

Check out Jan Blachowicz's comments here:

Fans of Blachowicz will be happy to hear the news he has recovered and they will see him compete in the octagon soon. He will face surging contender Carlos Ulberg later this month at UFC London on March 22.

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Jan Blachowicz excited to remind fans how dangerous he is on UFC London return

Jan Blachowicz recently opened up about his UFC return, stating that he is excited to remind fans that he hasn't lost a stop whilst recovering from injury.

After suffering a razor close split decision loss to Alex Pereira back in 2023, the Polish fighter has been sidelined through injury. Despite his recovery taking a significant amount of time, he believes he's still capable of returning to the top of the division.

Ahead of his bout against Carlos Ulberg, the 42-year-old spoke to MMA Fighting. The former champ stated that he's hoping to remind fans how good he is, as he believes he won the fight against Pereira:

"I want to remind people how tough I am, because I think people forgot that I won against Alex Pereira. The [judges] helped him, in my opinion. I have a draw with [Magomed] Ankalaev. The two most dangerous fighters in our division right now. I think people just forgot about me. But I'm not surprised, because I stopped, one-and-a-half years I'm not fighting."

Check out Jan Blachowicz's comments below (8:00):