Jan Blachowicz is set to welcome Luke Rockhold to the light heavyweight division, and believes he’s ready for whatever Rockhold has to offer.
The two square off on the main card Saturday at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas in a pivotal 205-pound showdown that could have title implications.
Blachowicz (23-8 MMA, 6-5 UFC) suffered a loss to current light heavyweight title challenger Thiago Santos, which put a stop to his four fight winning streak. But he is happy to be sharing the same card as the main event title fight between champion Jon Jones and Santos, a fight he’ll be watching closely.
“It’s great for me that I could be here, fighting with the champion on the same card on one of the biggest cards of the year,” Blachowicz told MMA Junkie Radio (go to the 1:46:15 mark in the video above).
Former middleweight champion Rockhold (16-4 MMA, 6-3 UFC) will look to enter the title picture with a win over Blachowicz. His southpaw stance and devastating kicks have proven to be two of his strongest weapons, but Blachowicz says they’re nothing that he hasn’t already seen before.
“My whole life at my gym, I’ve had two or three southpaws,” Blachowicz said. “It’s nothing new for me. I’m going to be ready for him. I can fight at southpaw, normal position – so I know everything about his game.”
Blachowicz admitted he’s not sure which version of Rockhold he’ll get, but he’ll be ready for the best one yet.
“I’m going to be ready for the best Luke Rockhold ever – but we’ll see,” Blachowicz said. “He hasn’t fought in a long time. He’s moved up a division. We’ll see how he’s going to move.”
UFC 239 takes place Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and UFC Fight Pass/ESPN+.
For more on UFC 239, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.
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