Jan Blachowicz reveals who he wants his first title defense to be if he beats Dominick Reyes at UFC 253

Nobody can deny the fact that Jan Blachowicz has earned a title shot after three emphatic victories. He's been one of the busier fighters on the roster and the Polish star last suffered a defeat a day before his 36th birthday in 2019 - when the Brazilian Thiago Santos defeated him via TKO to secure a title shot against Jon Jones.

Post that defeat, Jan Blachowicz went on to knock out Luke Rockhold, dominate Jacare Souza, and shut out Corey Anderson in devastating fashion in what would be the latter's final UFC fight.

While Jan Blachowicz would likely have gotten a shot at Jon Jones, he will now face Dominick Reyes for the vacant Light Heavyweight title in the co-main event of UFC 253.

Speaking to reporters on the virtual media day for UFC 253 (H/T MMA Junkie), Jan Blachowicz said that if he defeats Dominick Reyes, he wants his first title defense to be against Thiago Santos:

“For me it would be perfect, when I win against Dominick Reyes, that … my first belt defense would be a rematch against Thiago [Santos],” Blachowicz said. “It would be something really good for me. That’s how I see it in my dreams.”

Jan Blachowicz praised Thiago Santos' overall game inside the octagon and said:

“I think everything that he’s got is the standup,” Blachowicz said. “He’s a really good kickboxer; his standup is very dangerous. Good cardio, really strong. If you take him down, he stands up really good, so it’s going to be the most dangerous, his standup game.”

Would Thiago Santos get a potential title shot if Jan Blachowicz becomes the Champion?

Thiago Santos was first scheduled to face Glover Teixeira in September before the bout got postponed. They were then scheduled for early October but Santos contracted COVID-19, forcing the UFC to scrap the bout.

While the UFC might feel that Thiago Santos needs another win, he may have a valid claim for a title shot. Many fans felt that Thiago Santos did enough to narrowly edge out Jon Jones, similar to how Dominick Reyes lost on the scorecards.

While Thiago Santos seemed to think that he lost, a rematch with Jan Blachowicz would still make for a great fight and a good story.