Jan Blachowicz is out to work his way back to the UFC light heavyweight title, and his journey begins with a fight against Aleksandar Rakic this weekend.
Blachowicz (28-9) lost the belt to Glover Teixeira in October, in the Pole’s first defence of the gold that he won in 2020. At 39, Blachowicz does not have much time to regain the title, and his path back to the top will likely be a difficult one.
Rakic (14-2) certainly represents a tough test for the veteran, and the Austrian will be buoyed by back-to-back wins in his last two outings.
However, third-ranked Rakic has not competed in 14 months and so will need to prove that ring rust is little more than a myth.
Here’s all you need to know.
When is it?
The event will take place on Saturday 14 May at the UFC Apex institute in Las Vegas.
The prelims will begin at 12.30am BST (4.30pm PT, 6.30pm CT, 7.30pm ET) on Sunday morning, with the main card following at 3am BST (7pm PT, 9pm CT, 10pm ET).
How can I watch it?
The card will air live on BT Sport in the UK, with the broadcaster’s app and website also streaming the fights.
In the US, ESPN+ will stream the action live, as will the UFC’s Fight Pass.
Odds
Blachowicz – 5/4
Rakic – 4/7
Via Betfair.
Full card
Main card
Jan Blachowicz vs Aleksandar Rakic (light heavyweight)
Ryan Spann vs Ion Cutelaba (light heavyweight)
Davey Grant vs Louis Smolka (bantamweight)
Katlyn Chookagian vs Amanda Ribas (women’s flyweight)
Frank Camacho vs Manuel Torres (lightweight)
Jake Hadley vs Allan Nascimento (flyweight)
Prelims
Viviane Araujo vs Andrea Lee (women’s flyweight)
Michael Johnson vs Alan Patrick (lightweight)
Virna Jandiroba vs Angela Hill (women’s strawweight)
Tatsuro Taira vs Carlos Candelario (flyweight)
Nick Maximov vs Andre Petroski (middleweight)
