Former UFC light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz recently claimed he would be open to facing Tom Aspinall in a possible debut at heavyweight, and it looks like the fast-rising star is willing to oblige the Polish great.
Jan Blachowicz (29-10) has had a frustrating last two years. After defeating UFC pound-for-pound rankings stalwart Israel Adesanya in March of 2021, “Polish Power” has gone 1-2-1 in his last four. He dropped his 205-pound title to ageless wonder Glover Teixeira, fought to a draw in a vacant title bout against Magomed Ankalaev, and suffered a controversial defeat to former middleweight king Alex Pereira at UFC 291.
Related: UFC Tonight – Fight card, betting odds, and watch time’s for Saturday’s UFC event
That is why during an August conversation with Sportsnaut, he was asked if now would be the time to make a move to the heavyweight division. It is an idea the one-time titlist had suggested in the past. While he had not thought about it since his loss to Pereira, he admitted to the site the notion “sounds good” to him, and he will talk to the UFC about possible opportunities in the weight class.
Considering his place in the sport, the idea of fighting a top contender in a heavyweight debut is not out of the question. When asked about a potential scrap with Tom Aspinall — the fourth-ranked fighter in our latest UFC heavyweight rankings — Blachowicz had an interesting response.
Tom Aspinall interested in a matchup with Jan Blachowicz
“Aspinall did a great job in his last fight. That would be something very good for me for the first fight stop in heavyweight,” he told Sportsnaut. Well, Blachowicz’s interest in a possible matchup with the 13-3 fighter actually got back to the Englishmen, and he took to his Twitter/X account recently to respond to the proposal.
“That was unexpected … but, count me in,” Aspinall wrote on the platform.
The fast-rising heavyweight is 6-1 inside the Octagon with his only loss coming in July 2022 when he tore knee ligaments early in a fight with Curtis Blaydes. Many MMA observers view a possible bout between him and fellow contender Sergei Pavlovich as a likely title eliminator for the winner of the November title bout between Stipe Miocic and Jon Jones.
Aspinall would be the favorite in a matchup with Blachowicz, however, the former champion would be a very live underdog since the duo is equally matched.
