Jan Blachowicz Wants Joanna Jedrzejczyk vs. Karolina Kowalkiewicz in Poland

Jan Blachowicz Wants Joanna Jedrzejczyk vs. Karolina Kowalkiewicz in Poland

Jan Błachowicz may not be the favorite heading into his fight against Alexander Gustafsson this Saturday, but the man is certainly not lacking confidence.

Sep 2, 2016 by Jim Edwards
Jan Blachowicz Wants Joanna Jedrzejczyk vs. Karolina Kowalkiewicz in Poland
Jan Błachowicz may not be the favorite heading into his fight against Alexander Gustafsson this Saturday, but the man is certainly not lacking confidence.

Speaking Thursday at UFC Fight Night 93, Błachowicz seemed to relish fighting in Germany, and said he has good memories from fighting there.

"I remember fighting a long time ago here in Germany, but back then it was Muay Thai," Blachowicz said. "It was 10 years ago now, but I won the competition I had here and I was the European Muay Thai champion. That's why I like fighting in Germany."

Blachowicz is a sizeable underdog against Gustafsson, but that hasn't stopped the Polish light heavyweight from discussing the match.

"It doesn't matter to me [I'm the underdog], it's not something I think or care about," Blachowicz said. "I don't care what you or people say about Alex or me, I'm just focused on the fight, on him and my preparations--that's it. I have no pressure and that will show in the Octagon on Saturday night.

"I feel that now is my time. I had a bad result, but I'm back now. I know that through my training something will start to work for me. Now I'm much better than I was six months ago. Trust me, you are going to see that on Saturday. I'm a completely different fighter right now and I have a new confidence."

A win over Gustafsson this weekend would unquestionably be the biggest win of the Pole's career.

"Alex is a stand-up fighter, so this is what I've been focusing on in my preparations," Blachowicz said. "It's not easy to find fighters that move like Alex, that look like him, or fight like him. Trust me, though: I'm ready for anything, and I'm totally ready for this fight. There is nothing he can do that I won't have an answer for."

Polish MMA is in a boom period. Joanna Jedrzejczyk and Karolina Kowalkiewicz took the women's strawweight division by storm, which gave Poland more attention than ever. Blachowicz said he was proud of what both women had done for Poland, and said he would soon be there in the spotlight with them.

"Polish MMA isn't the biggest ever yet--after my win against Gustafsson, Polish MMA will be at its strongest," Blachowicz joked. "I really hope the UFC comes back to Poland and makes the fight between Karolina and Joanna. There are lots of Polish fighters in UFC right now, and I hope they make that fight, because it would be huge.

"Maybe they put that fight [Jedrzejczyk vs. Kowalkiewicz] in Poland. I think they should. I've not heard it yet, but they definitely should. I don't train with either now, but a very long time ago I was with Joanna in the national Muay Thai team."

When asked to pick who would win, Blachowicz took a long time to consider his answer. After a long pause, he gave a cautious response.

"No, no. I know both of them really good," Blachowicz said. "I think Joanna is a little bit better fighter than Karolina. It will be a good fight."

Having made his pick, the Polish light heavyweight had one last message for his fans tuning in to watch him on Saturday night.

"Please keep your fingers crossed for me," Blachowicz said. "I'm going to need your support. I'm going to give you a really good fight and a really good show. Prediction: Jan wins by KO or submission."