Jan Blachowicz has broken his silence after falling short in his first fight since July 2023.
The former light heavyweight champion squared off against soaring contender, Carlos Ulberg, in the UFC London co-main event on Saturday night.
After 15 passive minutes from both fighters, they stared each other down and screamed at one another before the judges all scored the fight 29-28 in favor of Jan Blachowicz‘s comeback opponent, who extended his win streak to eight in a row.
205lb champion Magomed Ankalaev reacted to the fight by claiming Ulberg deserves a title shot ‘more than anyone’ – but it seems like he will be made to wait as an immediate rematch between the Russian and Alex Pereira is in the works.
Jan Blachowicz answers retirement question
Blachowicz is on a run of just one win in his past five fights with MMA’s premier promotion.
On paper, it’s form that would suggest the Polish KO artist should call time on his career.
However, the 42-year-old ex-champion appears intent on carrying on after UFC London.
On Sunday morning, Blachowicz posted a Squid Game-inspired video as he broke his silence after suffering an 11th professional MMA loss.
Branding himself ‘Player 083’ – a reference to the year he was born – Blachowicz used the caption to make it very clear fight fans have not seen the last of him inside the UFC Octagon.
It read: “Player 083 – still in the game. #LegendaryPolishPower Player 083 – still in the game.”
Jan Blachowicz eyes Randy Couture’s record
Retirement was the furthest thing from Blachowicz’s mind in the build-up to his fight with Ulberg.
In fact, he had one eye on the oldest UFC champion record set by an MMA legend in 2008.
Randy Couture is the current record-holder after dropping his heavyweight title to Brock Lesnar at 45 years old.
“Why not? We’ll see,” Blachowicz said of potentially breaking Couture’s record.
“That was a different time. Then and now it’s a different time.
“I’m a different fighter but we’ll see. Maybe.”