Guys, he actually did it. I can't believe I'm typing it even though it's two days removed I still can't believe he actually did it. Yea, I know I picked against him, but I'm not even mad because this story is amazing. I am sad that Jan lost because I find him to be such a likable guy, but so is Glover. I'm so glad both of them get to have the shine of having UFC gold on their resume's for the rest of time. I know I have "what's next for Glover" in the title here, but honestly, we already know its Jiri Prochazka and I don't even want to get into it. Whenever that fight happens and however it goes down won't take away from Glover's moment here. This might be a little longer than usual, but I'm going to cover a lot of things about this main event here.
Let's start with what actually happened. If you didn't read my preview or my picks, I essentially said that Glover needed the fight to take place largely on the ground to have a chance, but that with the way his chin has been lately, I thought Jan would be able to defend well enough and then damage him on the feet. Obviously, we know that Glover did get the fight to the ground and controlled Jan for almost the entire first round. I do think Jan was doing some risk management and didn't really try to get back to his feet. Being that the takedown came so quickly and they were basically completely dry, I think this was a perfectly reasonable strategy. With so much time left and Jan's ability to find a finish at any moment, there was no reason to risk rolling right into a submission as he tried to get back up. The second round started back on the feet and had a lot more exchanges in the striking, which were slightly favoring Blachowicz, but not drastically. I believe if they had continued fighting this way for multiple rounds, we would have seen Jan have more and more success until Glover ultimately went down, but that's not what happened at all. Glover clipped Jan with a left hand that sent him off balance and was the beginning of the end for Jan. He obviously was still feeling the sting of the left hook as he made a strange decision to try to jump for a kimura, but Glover was able to take his back and lock in the rear naked choke for a pretty quick submission win. Like I said before, we already know Jiri Prochazka is next for Glover and will be a very tough opponent whenever we see that fight on the schedule.
The more complex question is what is next for Jan Blachowicz. In the immediate aftermath, it wasn't 100% obvious that Jan would even fight again. I mean, he had the belt and lost it and he's 38 years old. He's already reached the top of the sport and his wife just gave birth. No one would have blamed him if he just rode off into the sunset to enjoy his life, but as the interview took place in the cage and the press conference, it seemed pretty clear that Jan has no plans to stop fighting any time in the immediate future. To determine what is next for Jan requires one to speculate as to what goals he has for the rest of his career. Unfortunately for him, there's not really a ton of "mega-fights" or "money fights" at 205 lbs these days, so I'll assume the only option is to try to get back to a title fight. There's really no shortage of options for Jan, so it will be interesting to see what direction he goes in. Anthony Smith, Aleksandar Rakic, Thiago Santos, Dominick Reyes, and Magomed Ankalaev are all legitimate options who could match Jan's schedule. Smith and Rakic were scheduled for December, but Smith was forced to pull out after getting an infection following a knee surgery. Hopefully he can make a full recovery in the near future and will be available for a big fight early in 2022 as he's been on a really good run of late. The other half of that matchup is Rakic who, I imagine, would like to get back in there pretty soon as he hasn't fought in a little while, so I'm not sure he would like to wait 4-6 months for Jan, but maybe he would. Santos is coming off of a win, so maybe he wouldn't be at the top of the list, but I think he's a solid option. Obviously, Jan and Reyes have history and could get back in their for the rematch, while Ankalaev was also on this card and is looking for a step up in competition. I think the main "problem" with this division is that so many of the guys at the top have sort of been in the top 8 or so for a long time now. A lot of those fighters have a history, which can be compelling, but at the same time, fresh matchups are good too and its hard to find a new matchup there. If they are really committed to giving Jan someone coming off of a loss, then that would really complicate things. That really only leaves the Reyes rematch or someone really far down the rankings such as Volkan Oezdemir or Johnny Walker. If someone coming off a win is possible, Rakic and Anthony Smith are both probably realistic, but I think the Ankalaev fight would be really fun. My personal preference would be to see Anthony Smith get that opportunity, but obviously I'm not the one making the decisions. There's no real bad option here for Jan honestly. For a guy coming off of a title loss, he's in a really good spot to get back into the mix with one really good win. After the Prochazka fight, there really isn't a number one contender in waiting, so I don't think it's impossible that Jan could be that guy if things go his way. If you're asking me to rank all of those guys I mentioned in the order I would want to see them in the cage with Jan Blachowicz I would say: Anthony Smith, Ankalaev, Reyes, Rakic, Santos. I know I have Rakic kind of low, but I don't know. I feel like despite his ranking, he isn't super close to a title shot. He needs to win his next fight against a top flight opponent because his win over Santos was so odd that he kind of fell out of favor with some fans. I think he's a really good fighter, but we know the UFC is in the money making business and after that win, I don't think Rakic fighting for the title is really on anyone's radar.
This has been pretty long, so I'll cut myself off here. What do you guys think about Glover winning and how long can he hang on to the belt? Who do you like when he steps into the cage with Jiri? What's next for Jan? Who do you want him to fight and who do you think he will fight? As always, thanks for reading and please leave a comment below with your thoughts. Let's start a conversation.
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