The UFC makes its return to Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates for Saturday’s UFC 267 fight card. At the top of the event, Jan Blachowicz puts his light heavyweight crown on the line against former title challenger Glover Teixeira.
Blachowicz captured the vacant light heavyweight crown in Abu Dhabi in September 2020 when he knocked out Dominick Reyes at UFC 253. Jon Jones vacated the 205-pound belt in August. Blachowicz made his first title defense in March of this year when he defeated UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya. Blachowicz is on a five-fight winning streak.
Teixeira had a shot at UFC gold in 2014. He lost to Jones in that bout. He then went on a decent 5-4 run, but he really turned things around in 2019 with a submission win over Karl Roberson. Teixeira is now on a five-fight winning streak. He has finishes in his two most recent outings.
Statistically, these two matchup very well. On the striking side of the equation, the only glaring difference is in the strikes absorbed per minute. Despite having a similar striking defense percentage, the champion absorbs 2.79 strikes per minute, which is well below Teixeira’s 3.84.
Had this fight happened a few years ago, Blachowicz’s defensive wrestling would have been mentioned as a weakness, but he has not been taken down once during his five-fight winning streak.
Here is a look at how the two competitors match up in key stats ahead of UFC 267. The entire UFC 267 fight card streams on ESPN+.
UFC 267: Blachowicz vs. Teixeira
| Stat | Blachowicz | Teixeira |
|---|---|---|
| Stat | Blachowicz | Teixeira |
| Sig. Strikes Landed Per Min. | 3.59 | 3.75 |
| Striking Accuracy | 49% | 47% |
| Strikes Absorbed Per Minute | 2.79 | 3.84 |
| Striking Defense | 53% | 54% |
| Takedown Avg./15 min | 1.18 | 2.04 |
| Takedown Accuracy | 53% | 40% |
| Takedown Defense | 65% | 60% |
| Submission Average Per 15 min | 0.2 | 1.0 |
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