Last night (Friday, December 22, 2023), Israel Adesanya announced his return to action sooner than expected. The following day, former UFC light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz, who suffered his first professional loss, revealed that his absence from the sport would be longer than initially anticipated.
Blachowicz explained, “I had my first shoulder surgery. Unfortunately, there was too much work to do on one, so I couldn’t fix both at once. I have another surgery coming up soon. I’ll have to wait a little longer until I get back. Wishing you all a Merry Christmas. To do!”
In early December, Blachowicz had to withdraw from his scheduled rematch with Aleksandar Rakic at UFC 297 due to a shoulder injury. According to the former champion, the pain in his shoulders left him with the strength of a toddler, making him unable to compete at an elite level. As a result, Rakic was rebooked to fight Jiri Prochaska at UFC 300.
The prospect of a second shoulder surgery is not the best news for Blachowicz. The “Polish Power” is already 40 years old and winless in his last two matches (0 wins, 1 loss, 1 draw). Despite facing the best fighters at 205 pounds, returning to title contention after major surgery and a lengthy layoff won’t be easy.
We wish Blachowicz a speedy recovery.
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