Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Danny Segura

Jan Blachowicz didn’t find out about UFC 282 title shot until his flight landed hours after news broke

Jan Blachowicz is fighting for the UFC light heavyweight championship, yet he might have been the last important person to find out.

It turns out that, as news broke of Jiri Prochazka withdrawing from UFC 282 and vacating the title because of a shoulder injury, Blachowicz was thousands of feet in the air flying to Las Vegas.

Without WiFi on his plane, Blachowicz (29-9 MMA, 12-6 UFC) found out many hours after the public did that his fight with Magomed Ankalaev (17-1 MMA, 9-1 UFC) went from a co-main event title eliminator to headlining title fight at UFC 282.

“That was the craziest several hours ever,” Blachowicz wrote on Twitter on Thursday. “I left Warsaw to take part in the title eliminator match, and a few hours later I’ve arrived as a title challenger. I’m ready. Keep fingers crossed.

“(Jiri Prochazka) – huge respect for your conduct! Get well!”

As a result of the shakeup, Teixeira, who was slated to challenge Prochazka in a rematch, was left without a fight after turning down the opportunity to face Ankalaev for the belt.

Blachowicz is coming off a TKO win over Aleksandar Rakic this past July. Prior to that, he had lost by submission to Brazil’s Glover Teixeira at UFC 267 in October 2021, a defeat that cost him his UFC light heavyweight crown. He’s 6-1 in his past seven bouts.

On the other hand, Ankalaev enters UFC 282 on an impressive nine-fight winning streak. The Dagestan fighter was last seen in action back in July, when he stopped tough veteran Anthony Smith by second-round TKO.

UFC 282 takes place Dec. 10 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas with the main card on ESPN+ pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN 2/ESPN+.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 282.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.