‘We’re Going to Celebrate Together’- Jan Blachowicz Encourages Fans to Bet on Him at UFC 259

UFC light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz spoke to ESPN’s Ariel Helwani ahead of UFC 259, which will go down on Saturday. The 27-8 fighter out of Poland defends his belt for the first time against UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya. ‘The Last Stylebender’ has moved up a weight class in an attempt to make history in the leading MMA organization.

Blachowicz will be the man standing in his way and he’ll be keen to swipe some shine off from Adesanya. Israel Adesanya is one of the most popular fighters on the roster and it’s easy to see why Blachowicz wants that recognition. Furthermore, he has the opportunity to become the first man to defeat Adesanya and take away the ‘0’ from his record.

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Jan Blachowicz talks about being the underdog

The WCA Fight team stand-out is no stranger to the ‘underdog tag’ as he heads into battle. Prior to his scrap for the vacant title at UFC 253, he was considerably overlooked against Dominick Reyes as well. Speaking to Helwani, Blachowicz expressed a sense of indifference over being the underdog on the lines.

“I don’t care [about being the underdog]. I know that he’s big star, he’s got a lot of fans, UFC promote him but after the fight, everything will be changed. After Saturday, everyone will focus on him, not on me. I don’t think about stuff like this, I just focus about my body, myself, my mentality. I want to be in the best shape ever on Saturday, don’t get any injury in the next few days, stuff like this.”

Put the house down in the name of ‘Polish Power’

Furthermore, he challenged fans to put down money on him in order to cash in big. Jan Blachowicz has made his career as of late by coming in and spoiling the party for the favorites.

“I don’t think what’s happened in media, what’s he talking, what people talking. I’m thinking only about myself right now. I’m used to that [being overlooked] always underdog. If you want some money, put it on me. We’re gonna celebrate together.”

Be it his fight against Luke Rockhold or Corey Anderson, few in the MMA community have given him a chance. However, this has proven to be a costly mistake right from the get-go for fans of the line favorite. Chiefly, UFC 259 at the Apex Facility will be an indication about the trajectory that Blachowicz’s career will trend on.