Jan Blachowicz Has a Chance to Improve P4P Ranking Against Teixeira
UFC Light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz is seventh in the pound-for-pound rankings in the UFC. However, victory in his next fight against the very capable Glover Teixeira could help him climb that list.
Blachowicz won his title when he beat Dominick Reyes by a 2nd round TKO at UFC 253, which was his first belt with the UFC. He then put his crown on the line when he faced Israel Adesanya at UFC 259. Many pundits made the Polish-born fighter the underdog for that fight, but he proved them wrong with a points success.
The light heavyweight champion has won his last five fights in UFC, he has not been beaten since Thiago Santos caught him in the third round of their contest in 2019 in Prague. To his credit, he has bounced back well from that defeat.
The bookmakers make Blachowicz the favorite to beat Teixeira in his next assignment. As of September 1st, he is -275 in the betting for that contest. His Mexican opponent is the +220 underdog to cause an upset and take the belt off the champion in Abu Dhabi.
A second successive title defense would enhance Blachowicz’s reputation further. His current fighting record is 28-8. Three of his last five victories in the UFC have come inside the distance, so he is proving to be very dangerous inside the octagon.
Teixeira A Worthy Challenger
As the number one challenger to his belt, Teixeira is set to be a strong test for Blachowicz at UFC 267 next month. The experienced 41-year-old is on a five-fight winning run himself, so will be full of confidence.
Teixeira picked up the Performance of the Night when he stopped Anthony Smith in the fifth round of their fight in May 2020. More recently, he came out on top against Santos via submission. Those two successes show how dangerous he is in this division.
This will be Teixeira’s second shot at a UFC title after he fought Jon Jones at UFC 172 for the light heavyweight crown. The judges scored that contest unanimously in favor of Jones and the man from Brazil has had to wait seven years for his next opportunity for a belt.
If successful against Blachowicz, the 205lb man would be the oldest winner to pick up the light heavyweight title in the UFC since Randy Couture did so at the age of 41 in 2004. His MMA record leading into the fight reads at 32-7, which is arguably the best form of his career so far.
Blachowicz Must Leapfrog in Rankings
Jones currently leads the way in the UFC pound-for-pound rankings, despite announcing back in April that he had retired from the sport. A return to the octagon cannot be ruled out as the former light heavyweight champion has been linked with a fight with heavyweight titleholder Francis Ngannou.
That top spot is likely to remain with Jones unless it becomes apparent that he will not return to UFC. Victory over Ngannou would obviously help him cement his place as the best fighter in the brand as he would become a two-weight champion.
Kamaru Usman is the highest-ranked active fighter in the P4P list. The welterweight championship is second on the rankings and that is after he made his fourth defense on his belt. His most recent victory came against welterweight rival Jorge Masvidal.
The former Ultimate Fighter winner has had impressive wins over Gilbert Burns, Colby Covington, and Tyron Woodley. He is going to take some dislodging by those behind him inside the top 10 of the list.
Blachowicz will be buoyed by the fact that Adesanya is third in the rankings as he defeated the middleweight when he stepped up in weight division earlier this year. Just below the Nigerian is Alexander Volkanovski. The featherweight champion has won all nine of his fights since joining the UFC.
The Polish fighter will need two or three more wins against established names before he can break into the top five himself. That is likely to be his goal over the next 18 months and it is certainly something that is achievable. His focus, for now, will be on Teixeira as defeat would ruin any momentum he has on his march up the rankings.
