The UFC is finalizing a massive matchup in the light heavyweight division. Per ESPN’s Brett Okamoto, Dominick Reyes (12-1) will be taking on Jan Blachowicz (26-8) on September 26th.
Dana White said last week that the promotion was waiting to hear back from Jon Jones on what was next for him. White confirmed that there would be a UFC light heavyweight title fight before the year was over. The details of the Reyes/Blachowicz fight is still being worked out.
Breaking: A 205-pound fight between Dominick Reyes (@DomReyes) and Jan Blachowicz (@JanBlachowicz) is in the works for Sept. 26. The fight is nearly agreed to, but the stakes are being worked out. UFC is working with current champ Jon Jones right now to figure out his next move. pic.twitter.com/lHy7GUfX2Q
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) August 17, 2020
UFC interim champion or title eliminator?
This is such a big fight because it pairs the top two contenders in the UFC’s light heavyweight division. Earlier this year at UFC 247, Dominick Reyes fought Jon Jones for the light heavyweight title.
Reyes put on the performance of a lifetime and many believed that he was going to walk out the new champion. In fact, the majority of the media who scored the fight had the fight for Reyes. In the end, the three judges were unanimous in giving the fight to Jones.
Despite the outpouring of interest in the rematch, Jones seemed to want to move on. He set his eyes on the Polish Express. Blachowicz shocked everyone when he knocked out top contender Corey Anderson just one week after Jones fought Reyes.
With the knockout win, Blachowicz made his case to be the top contender. Jones nodded in approval as Blachowicz shouted at him from the cage after the victory. The UFC had two top contenders on their hands with interesting storylines around them both.
Of course, Jones then expressed his interest in moving up to heavyweight. He suggested that Blachowicz fight Reyes for the title when he was going through his contract dispute with the UFC.
#ESPN Reyes vs Jan For the UFC light heavyweight championship of the world. As of right now, I got nothing to really gain fighting either of them. Let me know if you guys want to set up a day in 2021 for that Izzy fight. Hopefully you guys will be willing to pay by then.
— BONY (@JonnyBones) May 31, 2020
While we certainly don’t know the circumstances just yet, we know that is exactly what’s going to happen. The winner of this fight will either be an interim champion or the winner will be earning the right to fight the UFC‘s light heavyweight champion in the next few months.