UFC welterweight contender hilariously uses FIFA World Cup reference to slide into Jan Blachowicz's DMs, invites former champ on his podcast

UFC welterweight contender Belal Muhammad recently shared a screen recording of the messages he sent to Jan Blachowicz. The No.4-ranked 170-pound fighter referenced the ongoing FIFA World Cup as a medium to initiate a conversation with the former UFC light heavyweight champion.

Muhammad started off by liking a bunch of images that Jan Blachowicz posted on Instagram. He later sent out a direct message to the Polish MMA star and called the act, "The art of sliding into a DM."

The intention behind the activity was to invite Blachowicz to Muhammad's podcast:

"Hey, what's up! The World Cup's crazy! Do you like soccer? Anyways, want to come on my podcast?"

Check out the tweet below:

Jan Blachowicz is currently preparing for his upcoming fight against Magomed Ankalaev in the main event of UFC 282. The No.2-ranked light heavyweight contender will battle it out with the surging Russian contender with the 205-pound strap up for grabs.

Muhammad, on the other hand, has been undefeated in his last nine fights and is making his case for the next title shot. With the UFC looking at a potential rematch between Leon Edwards and Kamaru Usman, Muhammad believes that 'The Nigerian Nightmare' needs to pick up some victories before contesting for the belt again.

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Jan Blachowicz claims that a five-round fight against Magomed Ankalaev works in his favor

Jan Blachowicz was originally scheduled to face Magomed Ankalaev in the co-main event of UFC 282. However, former light heavyweight champion Jiri Prochazka vacated his title due to a serious shoulder injury.

With Prochazka relinquishing the 205-pound throne and Glover Teixeira turning down fights against last-minute replacements, the UFC bumped the fight between Jan Blachowicz and Magomed Ankalaev to the main event spot.

It's generally accepted knowledge that changes in the bout stipulations at the eleventh hour can hinder a combatant's approach to the fight. Nonetheless, this is not the case for Blachowicz, who claims that a five-round affair works in his favor.

Speaking to Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, Blachowicz stated:

"For me, it's better, because if the fight goes longer, I feel better. So I'm happy with that because that was a big concern. For me, the worst thing was that I'm going to have three rounds. When I started training for battle again, a three-round fight that was worse for me because I start to do a very good job in the third round... So five rounds is better for me."

Check out the full interview below: