Former UFC light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz will face former middleweight champion Alex Pereira in the co-main event at UFC 291 this weekend.
Pereira has a terrifying reputation in the UFC thanks to his devastating punching power, but Blachowicz’s own Polish Power may well make an appearance of its own.
Jan Blachowicz Details UFC 291 Gameplan
Blachowicz recently detailed his plan for the fight, and his return to 205-pound title contention, in an interview with MMAFighting. “I’m going to be ready for everything that he’s got for me.
I don’t forget about the wrestling and the ground game, because maybe I’m going to have to use it, but you never know.
I would like to check my standup against his because he’s one of the best of the world. I’m curious how my standup will look against him. I believe I can knock him out.”
Pereira’s striking acumen has been the subject of much discussion since his arrival in the UFC. As a former Glory kickboxing champion, Pereira is expected to keep the fight on the feet as much as possible, but Jan Blachowicz wants to remind the striker what game they’re playing.
“MMA is a completely different sport from boxing or kickboxing. Because you need to be focused about takedowns, fighting close to the cage, dirty boxing. This is what you don’t have in boxing and kickboxing. The game is completely different.
He got the title shot, he was the champion, but maybe he hasn’t fought against a very good wrestler, someone who will take him down, control him on the ground.
So maybe it’s time to do it. Maybe I will take him down and we will see what he can do on the ground. But if you want to see what I’m going to do inside the octagon, you will need to watch the fight, and I promise it’s going to be a very good fight to watch.”
Considering Jan Blachowicz’s brutal, dominant grappling prowess, many are expecting the Polish fighter to lead the dance by grinding his opponent into the mat.
Jan Blachowicz, however, has a point to prove. He wants to prove that Polish Power can beat Stone Hands. “I want to prove to the world that my standup is better than his standup.
That I am a better fighter than he is. I fight against a couple of guys at middleweight, so maybe I won’t send him back to his category but show him it’s much different between the lower division and our division.
Of course, the victory is the most important thing, no matter how, no matter why, but when I see how the fight is [going to be] finished, [it’s with a] knockout or submission in the second round. I submit him or I knock him out.”
