This past Saturday co-main event of UFC London, we saw a massive matchup in the light heavyweight division. Former light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz (29-11-1) returned after nearly two years away to take on rising top contender Carlos Ulberg (12-1).
For Blachowicz, this was his first fight in nearly two years. After losing a very close split decision to Alex Pereira, Blachowicz dealt with serious shoulder issues that nearly ended his career. However, he battled back through rehab and worked extremely hard to get back to the octagon on Saturday night.
Given Ulberg’s winning streak and desire to fight for the title along with Blachowicz’s return at 42-years-old, I expected urgency for both men on Saturday. However, we got a very high level chess match with neither man wanting to take a major risk.
Blachowicz was pushing forward the majority of the fight with Ulberg throwing slightly more. We mainly saw a battle of leg kicks in a largely disappointing fight. When the fight ended, I thought it could go either way and I figured whoever lost would be frustrated with the decision. The loss was handed to Blachowicz and you could tell he didn’t agree with the decision at UFC London.
What’s next after UFC London?
The former champion is now 0-2-1 in his last three fights and all three fights were extremely close. The draw came against the current champion in Magomed Ankalaev. In that fight, Blachowicz was given the first three rounds by two of the judges but lost the fourth round and suffered a dominating 10-8 in the final round leading to a majority draw.
He then fought Alex Pereira at UFC 291 and he gassed out due to the altitude but he still believed he won the fight which was razor close. He lost a split decision in that one and now he lost on Saturday night. Three straight tough decisions for Blachowicz after his incredible run at 205.
I still think Blachowicz has more to give, he just needs to fight with a little more urgency. In terms of what’s next, I think the UFC should book a rematch between him and Aleksandar Rakic. Since coming back from injury, Rakic has lost two in a row so he’s in a very similar spot. When they first fought, Rakic was getting the better of things before suffering his injury. Just seems like the perfect time for these two to run it back.