Poland's Jan Blachowicz celebrates his win over British fighter Jimi Manuwa (L) in their Light Heavyweight fight during the UFC Fight Night at the O2 Arena in London on March 17, 2018. Accused of promoting an ultra-violent spectacle by allowing strikes on an opponent on the ground, the organization has put in place protocols to secure the health of athletes, including monitoring the impact on the brain of blows to the head. / AFP PHOTO / Tolga Akmen (Photo credit should read TOLGA AKMEN/AFP via Getty Images)
Jan Blachowicz says he is just focused on himself and does not consider the hype around Israel Adesanya before their UFC 259 title bout
The UFC light heavyweight bout between Israel Adesanya and Jan Blachowicz at UFC 259 draws closer.
The main event of the PPV scheduled to take place on 6th March 2021 has drawn a lot of hype for various reasons.
‘Izzy’ is already the middleweight champion and would aim to win the light heavyweight belt for the first time in his career.
For the Polish fighter, this will be his first title defence since winning it at UFC 253.
Talking before the fight, Blachowicz was asked if Adesanya’s hype made him prepare differently for the bout.
The light heavyweight champ responded by saying that it does not faze him. Instead, he seemed pretty relaxed about the big fight.
Speaking on SCMP MMA on YouTube, Blachowicz said that he does not take this fight differently than any other fight he has fought before. He is focused on himself and that is all that matters to him.
“I only focus on me. I don’t focus on him, his hype and stuff like this. I focus about my shape, my cardio… everything that is around me, not around him. I don’t care. He is my another opponent, I just have to beat him.”
Blachowicz also added that he is not overthinking about his first title defence. He is treating it as a normal fight and does not want to put more pressure on himself.
“I don’t think like this about the fight. I don’t want to put more pressure to my head. I know that he is a big star, great fighter, really good fighter, one of the best. But am thinking about him like my next opponent. I don’t want to put more pressure to my head.”
It will certainly be exciting to see who prevails in this battle of strength vs speed. Either way, it would be a milestone moment in their careers, and as fans, we can be assured of a thrilling main event.
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