Jan Blachowicz has defeated a number of notable names in his career, but perhaps none bigger than former middleweight champion Luke Rockhold.
In July, Blachowicz brutally knocked out Rockhold in the second round of their UFC 239 clash in Las Vegas. The matchup was Rockhold’s debut at 205 pounds in the UFC.
In the final seconds of the opening round, Blachowicz nailed Rockhold with a big left hand. The shot staggered Rockhold, who fell to the ground. However, Rockhold was saved by the bell.
The buzzer wasn’t able to save Rockhold in the opening two minutes of the second round, however. Blachowicz landed another massive left hand and finished Rockhold with a big follow-up punch at 1:39 of round 2.
The victory was Blachowicz’s fourth in five fights and placed him back in the win column after suffering a loss to future-UFC title challenger Thiago Santos. The defeat was Rockhold’s third time being finished by strikes in four fights.
Saturday night, Blachowicz (24-8 MMA, 7-5 UFC) will look to turn a win into a win streak when he takes on another light heavyweight newcomer Ronaldo Souza (26-7 MMA, 9-4 UFC) in the UFC on ESPN+ 22 main event.
UFC on ESPN+ 22 takes place Saturday at Ginásio do Ibirapuera in Sao Paulo. The card streams on ESPN+.
Check out Jan Blachowicz’s brutal knockout of Luke Rockhold at UFC 239 in the video below:
