RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 1 sourcesJan
Blachowicz 's journey back to title contention has taken another
unexpected turn.
The former
Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight titleholder
was originally slated to rematch Bogdan
Guskov at
UFC Belgrade on Aug. 1 in Serbia. However, those plans changed
when Guskov was offered the
UFC Abu Dhabi main event spot against Magomed
Ankalaev following Khalil
Rountree 's withdrawal.
As such, Blachowicz (29-11-2) will now square off against Navajo
Stirling in the new co-main event in Belgrade and the Polish
veteran is unfazed by the change. Jan Blachowicz prepares for UFC Belgrade fight against Navajo
Stirling
After Guskov accepted the short-notice bout against Ankalaev,
Blachowicz was paired with Stirling. The former champion insists
little has changed in his preparation.
“I am doing this all my life,” Blachowicz said in a recent
interview. “It’s a new opponent. I have a lot of respect for him,
but it's just another fighter who I have to stop. I don’t think
about this mess around because I don’t want to waste energy for
that. Okay, it’s a new opponent; that’s it. We do small changes and
we are here to win the fight against him, or a different opponent
doesn’t matter.”
The upcoming matchup gives Blachowicz an opportunity to halt the
longest winless stretch of his UFC tenure. He has gone four
straight outings without a victory and is coming off a majority
draw against Guskov this past December. His last win came all the
way back in May 2022 when he defeated Aleksandar
Rakic .
He’ll have his work cut out for him against the surging Stirling,
who boasts a perfect 10-0 record. "I've been doing this my whole
life."
Jan Błachowicz ( @JanBlachowicz )
doesn't let a late opponent change rattle him and believes
experience will play a factor at
#UFCBelgrade
Fight By Fight Preview ➡️ https://t.co/dJBVdNYVzv pic.twitter.com/47BVGOsQu9 — UFC News
(@UFCNews)
July 28, 2026
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