That’s good news for Blachowicz, and potentially bad news for Rakic, who remained tasked with being the first man to face the former titleholder in his first bout since losing the belt and looks to punch his own ticket to a championship opportunity with a win this weekend.
The 30-year-old Austrian enters on a two-fight winning streak, having earned consecutive unanimous decision wins over former title challengers Anthony Smith and Thiago Santos after suffering the lone loss of his UFC career — a questionable split decision setback against another former title challenger, Volkan Oezdemir, at the end of 2019.
Younger, taller, and hungry to finally secure the first championship opportunity of his career, Blachowicz knows Rakic brings a lot to the table that he needs to be worried about this weekend, but he’s confident that he will emerge victorious and put forth the kind of performance that secures him a shot at whomever holds the title following next month’s championship clash between Teixeira and Jiri Prochazka, despite being the underdog.
“So I show the world again that I deserve respect as a fighter,” he said dismissively when asked about the betting odds, which favor Rakic slightly heading into Saturday’s contest. “I did this before and I will do this again, with pleasure. I don’t care about this. I can be underdog or not. Who cares? Not me.
“He’s younger than me — much younger — and he’s very strong, dynamic, has powerful kicks, powerful hands,” said Blachowicz of Rakic. “He’s a dynamic fighter, so this is what I have to be worried about the most, but I’ve got sparring partners similar to his style, very good kickboxers, so we are ready for what he’s got for us.”
After a longer break than anticipated, a brief medical scare, and a swift kick where the sun don’t shine, the former champion is once again ready to step into the Octagon and make a statement.
And this time, he won’t be leaving the legendary Polish power at the hotel.
“Now I feel again as I did before Reyes, before Adesanya; before each fight that I won,” he said. “I am ready for everything, and my cardio is ready for 25 minutes of fighting, but for sure I will try to finish the fight before five rounds.
“The second round would be perfect — submit him or knock him out. Knocking him out would be the best way to win the fight and show the UFC that I deserve a second chance to fight for the belt.”
