UFC light heavyweight contender Jan Blachowicz insists he’s at the front of the queue to fight for the title once things get back up and running again, and he’s ready to fight for the belt with or without champion Jon Jones.
Speaking to Polish MMA website MMARocks.pl before Jones’ plea deal was announced, Blachowicz reacted to the news of the UFC light heavyweight champion’s recent arrest, and said Jones has a problem handling the trappings of success.
“I know they let him out of the arrest, so we’ll see how the situation goes,” he said (via translation). “Obviously, the guy can’t manage the success he has, and that’s the main problem because he thinks he can do anything until something happens.
“Life is unfair, (but) this is how the world works. The law is for rich people. We can’t do anything about it. We can only complain, but it is what it is. The only thing I can do is do my job in the octagon. It’s not my role to be a judge. Jon is going big time when it comes to the unnecessary gun usage involved. However, maybe the hit-and-run with the pregnant woman was even worse than this.”
In the meantime, Blachowicz is sitting tight and biding his time during the coronavirus pandemic. Along with former title challengers Dominick Reyes and Thiago Santos, the Polish fighter is one of three men vying for the next shot at gold. But he said when the action resumes inside the octagon, there is nobody ahead of him in the queue to fight for the 205-pound title.
“Everyone is trying to make his way to the belt, but these guys already had a chance and they didn’t take it,” he said of his two fellow contenders. “Now they can rest some, or they can fight between the two of them. I am the next in line, and nobody can get in line in front of me. They can just fight to see who’s going to be fighting me next, when I’m defending the belt (or) if anything happens and they take the belt from Jon.”
Blachowicz said despite Jones’ personal issues away from the cage, his preference would be to face the reigning champion. But he admitted his focus isn’t on beating Jones specifically, it’s on winning the title.
“Personally, I would prefer to fight him next for the belt, but fighting for the belt itself is the most important thing,” he said. “If they take away the belt (from Jones), or if the UFC decides to make an interim belt, I think in that situation I’d be fighting Reyes next, and then the rematch with Thiago Santos. Of course, that’s only if Jones is out of the championship race.”
However, with the world currently facing a collective battle against the continuing COVID-19 pandemic, that championship race is currently at a standstill and Blachowicz said that his plans, just like those of most other people in the world, are currently on hold.
“Everyone has the same problem because 90 percent of people in the world are just trying to survive now,” he said. “We are all living under a big question mark because I don’t know what will happen next. If my fight will happen, the next question is when? Right now, I cannot plan anything. I don’t even know if I will be next as a contender for the belt or if I’ll have to wait a bit longer. All the time I live a life full of question marks, like everyone else in the world.”
Jan Blachowicz says he's next up for light heavyweight title shot, with or without Jon Jones