Jan Blachowicz lost the light heavyweight title to Glover Teixeira at UFC 267 after the Brazilian submitted the Polish fighter with a rear-naked choke in the second round. The fight was Blachowicz's second title defense, the first being against then-middleweight champion Israel Adesanya at UFC 259.
Jan Blachowicz won the vacant title in September 2020 against Dominick Reyes at UFC 253. He knocked Reyes out in the second round to claim the light heavyweight title. At the time, Jon Jones, the longest reigning two-time UFC light heavyweight, had just vacated the belt earlier that year in May.
Teixeira lost the title to Jiří Procházka at UFC 275, where ironically, the Brazilian got caught in a submission in the fifth round. The two were supposed to have a rematch at UFC 282. However, Procházka pulled out of the bout, citing a serious shoulder injury.
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Resultantly, the bout between Jan Blachowicz and Magomed Ankalaev was bumped up to the main event. In a twist of fate, Blachowicz finds himself fighting for the vacant light heavyweight title yet again.
Jan Blachowicz last faced Aleksandar Rakić at UFC Vegas 54. He won the fight via TKO in the second round after Rakić was unable to continue fighting due to a knee injury.
He will now compete for the vacant light heavyweight championship against Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 282 on December 10 at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Las Vegas.
Jan Blachowicz vs. Magomed Ankalaev: Who will emerge as the victor?
Coming into the fight, Blachowicz definitely has the experience advantage with 38 bouts under his belt. He has a promotional record of 12-6 and an overall MMA record of 29-9. The Polish fighter has nine wins each, by way of knockouts and submissions, with seven first-round finishes.
Jan Blachowicz also has championship-level experience, having fought Israel Adesanya for five rounds.
However, Magomed Ankalaev is a different kind of beast who won't be easy to take down.
The Dagestani light heavyweight has excellent grappling credentials with a 'Master of Sport' rank in Combat Sambo. He has only one promotional loss on his record. He was submitted in his UFC debut by Paul Craig via a rear-naked choke at UFC Fight Night 127.
Magomed Ankalaev is currently on a nine-fight win streak and has 10 wins by knockout and six first-round finishes. On paper, this fight has all the makings to become an all-time classic in the light heavyweight division.