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UFC 259: Jan Blachowicz open to quick heavyweight move – if the price is right

  • Pole plans on making multiple title defences and staying at light heavyweight for ‘two or three years’
  • Blachowicz says he will go up ‘but not after this fight’ against Israel Adesanya, unless the money is too good to turn down

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Jan Blachowicz interacts with media during the UFC 259 press conference at UFC Apex on March 4, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Photo: Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

Jan Blachowicz will delay his move up to heavyweight – unless the UFC comes with a deal he cannot refuse.

After winning the vacant light heavyweight title at UFC 253 last September in Abu Dhabi via second-round knockout over Dominick Reyes, Blachowicz (27-8) has been continuously fielding questions about chasing Jon Jones up a division.

This weekend at UFC 259 in Las Vegas, the “Prince of Cieszyn” defends his title for the first time against middleweight champion Israel Adesanya. The picture is certainly complicated, but the Pole insists the focus is more on multiple title defences at 205 pounds, rather than jumping divisions any time soon.

“I will go to heavyweight but not after this fight,” Blachowicz told SCMP MMA. “I want to do maybe two or three more fights, maybe four in 205 and then I will go to heavyweight. Not after this fight.”

In this sport nothing is set in stone, especially when Dana White is at the helm for negotiations, and circumstances can change with a quick phone call.

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