Jan
Blachowicz believes Jamahal
Hill might not be in his best shape when he attempts to reclaim
the light heavyweight title against Alex
Pereira.
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Hill , who defeated Glover
Teixeira to be crowned champ at UFC 283 in January, had to
vacate his strap in July after suffering a torn Achilles tendon
during a pickup basketball game. Meanwhile, Pereira went on to
capture the vacant title with a Round 2 technical knockout win over
former champ Jiri
Prochazka at UFC 295 earlier this month.
Hill claims that he has been guaranteed a title shot upon his
return to the Octagon, which will most likely be against Pereira.
However, Blachowicz believes the long hiatus could negatively
affect “Sweet Dreams.”
“We’ll see how he’s going to feel after the injury because
sometimes it’s hard coming back in great shape,” Blachowicz told
MiddleEasy. “You
still got something in the back of your head that you have surgery
and you’re coming back. You don’t know how your leg is going to
feel. So, I don’t know. In this moment, I would put my money on
Pereira.”
Pereira received his title shot following a closely-contested split
decision win over Blachowicz, which the Pole believes should have
gone his way. Blachowicz is now set for a rematch against Aleksandar
Rakic at UFC 297 on Jan. 20 in Toronto. The two last met inside
the Octagon in May 2022, where Rakic fell via TKO after suffering a
knee injury in the third frame of the bout. Confident of another
victory against Rakic, the former champ is eyeing a title shot
following the bout.
“If Pereira will fight against Jamahal
Hill and he’s going to win, and I believe that I’m going to win
against Rakic, so this rematch, they have to give it to me because
our fight was split decision, and I believe the [judges] gave a bad
decision,” Blachowicz said. “So, they have to give me this
rematch.”
Blachowicz is also willing to serve as the backup for the title
fight between Pereira and Hill whenever the bout materializes.
“I can be backup fighter, no problem,” he said. “You just sit over
there waiting, watch the fight, and they give you some money. So,
why not?”