On Saturday night at UFC 259, UFC light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz silenced the doubters, winning a competitive decision over middleweight champion and rising superstar Israel Adesanya. Coming into the bout, there were a number of questions about the legitimacy of Blachowicz’s title and his prospects of holding onto the belt. Now there can be none. Jan Blachowicz is the rightful king of the light heavyweight division and the man deserves his respect.
It’s easy to dismiss Blachowicz’s late-career renaissance as little more than smoke and mirrors. After all, in his run to the title, Blachowicz faced a pair of middleweights, Corey Anderson, and Dominick Reyes.