UFC 253 free fight: Jan Blachowicz breaks Luke Rockhold's jaw, spoils divisional debut
Jan Blachowicz rides a three-fight winning streak into UFC 253.
The stretch kicked off at UFC 239 in July 2019, when Blachowicz took on former UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold on the pay-per-view main card. The fight marked Rockhold’s UFC debut at 205 pounds.
Playing the role of spoiler, Blachowicz rocked Rockhold late in Round 1 with a left hook followed by a head kick at the end-of-round buzzer. Rockhold had one minute to recover in the corner, but Blachowicz didn’t let him off the hook once the fight resumed.
Early in Round 2, Blachowicz caught Rockhold again with another left hand. This one floored Rockhold, snapping his head back as he hit the canvas. As Rockhold struggled to gain his bearings, Blachowicz followed up with a series of hard punches. Referee Herb Dean stepped in and waved off the fight at the 1:39 mark.
After the fight, it was revealed Rockhold suffered a broken jaw as a result of the knockout loss.
On Saturday, Blachowicz (26-8 MMA, 9-5 UFC) will serve as one half of the UFC 253 co-main event. In his first UFC title challenge, Blachowicz will take on Dominick Reyes (12-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) for the UFC light heavyweight championship. The title was vacated by longtime holder Jon Jones earlier this year.
UFC 253 takes place Saturday at Flash Forum at Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN2 and ESPN+.
Before UFC 253, check out Jan Blachowicz’s knockout of Luke Rockhold in the full fight video above.