Jan Blachowicz is glad to see Glover Teixeira get a title shot at this stage of his career but said that’s as far as his run will go.
Blachowicz (28-8 MMA, 11-5 UFC) thinks Teixeira (32-7 MMA, 15-5 UFC) is more than deserving of the opportunity to challenge for his light heavyweight title in Saturday’s UFC 267 headliner. However, he has no intention of surrendering his belt once they step in the octagon.
“He’s a great opponent with great skills,” Blachowicz said of Teixeira at UFC 267 media day. “A lot of experience. He’s longer than me in this sport, so we are friends. No bad blood between us. But that doesn’t change anything. When we go inside the octagon, the fight will start, and I have to knock him out, and I will do it.”
Blachowicz, 38, and Teixeira, 42, combine for the second-oldest title fight in UFC history. They both have a tremendous amount of experience and have overcome doubt and obstacles en route to this moment.
Despite his age, Teixeira’s durability continues to be a major weapon in his favor. Multiple opponents during his current five-fight winning streak have made the mistake of getting overzealous and allowing him to rally for a win, and Blachowicz knows he must be cautious of this.
“A lot of fighters make mistakes,” Blachowicz said. “When they hit him hard, they try to finish him too fast. He catch them in his game because he has a lot of experience, and he knows how to use it. I am ready for that. I will show how I’m going to defeat him on Saturday.”
After securing his first 205-pound title defense against Israel Adesanya at UFC 259 in March, Blachowicz is keen to keep his reign going against Teixeira. He doesn’t know what would come next but sees Jiri Prochazka vs. Aleksandar Rakic as a logical title eliminator.
“If I was the matchmaker, I would do this fight, Rakic vs. Jiri, then the winner of this fight will be next opponent,” Blachowicz said. “But I am not the matchmaker. When UFC sends me opponent, I sign the contact. I don’t choose my opponent. I’ve never done this before, and I won’t do this in future.”
UFC 267 takes place at Etihad Arena on “Fight Island” in Abu Dhabi. The entire card streams on ESPN+.
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Jan Blachowicz has ‘no bad blood’ with Glover Teixeira, plots KO in UFC 267 title defense