I was just thinking about whether Jan Blachowicz could move up to HW and capture the title. Has he ever shown an interest in doing this? I’d do it just to stick it to Jon Jones, but I’m a very petty person.
No, Francis might kill him.
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Francis is a bad match up for any striker
Gane should likely tool Francis just looking at it honestly.
Jan, while absolutely great, Is too small for Gane. Gane May very well have the technical advantage standing as he is just so well layered as a striker.
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Gane and Francis would make him look like a child. Which is scary because Jan is a big guy.
Jan even being champ just shows how weak the division is.
Not hating on him, but hes a journeyman.
Prime Silva would have ate Israel and Jan both inside 2 rounds.
185 to HW is in a slump.
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This is my thinking too. The 265+ guys at HW are yuge. I wonder if there was a 240lb division, would we have seen Jon and Jan move up already?
I never thought I’d agree with this, but it’s true. Remember 2010 Ubereem? Unstoppable knee and muay thai machine. I thought that guy would run through Francis due to the disparity in technique.
I used to be the biggest guy to shit on Jan on this entire forum. When Malki kept walking back Jon’s HW talk, saying “he needs to fight Jan first at 205”, I was the loudest voice saying “who the fuck is Jan Blachowicz” and “no one wants to see Jon fight the trash can Jan Blachowicz”. He’s grown on me in a big way, one of my favourite fighters to watch now.
But in his last 10, he’s 9 and 1 with some great finishes. He’s beat
Izzy
Dominick Reyes
Corey Anderson
Jacare
Luke Rockhold
Nikita Krylov
Jimi Manuwa
Jared Cannonier
His lone loss was Thiago Santos, who went on to “beat” Jones.
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Jan gets hit way too much and HW power > Polish power
How do you feel Jan matches up with guys like Overeem and Arlovski? I think he beats both guys.
DC and Stipe? I think these are even fights… and FIREWORKS.
Roz and Gane? These are the tougher fights for him due to size and technique. Worse case matchups.
Lewis and Ngannou? I think he beats both guys 33% of the time.
This is a stupid opinion, no disrespect but 205 is a solid division now with some very talented strikers. Jan has a well developed game, it’s undeniable.
Also Anderson has two legit wins at 205 in the UFC, Irvin and Forrest. Neither of whom would even break top 15 in the UFC today.
Not even close. This version of Jan would have put a beating on Silva. He’s a very good striker with big pop, good defense and a solid chin.
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I disagree. I think Anderson at his peak beats Jan. Israel was completely clueless off his back and managed to survive there. Anderson has better BJJ than Israel will ever have, and even with the size difference, I think in the clinch, Anderson gives Jan a much harder time than Israel did. Let us also not forget than Anderson was bigger naturally at 205 than Israel. Anderson never came in underweight at 205 like Israel did.
Yea, it’s crazy. Jan is a huge dude. And yet he’d look tiny compared to Francis.
No
You new people dont understand what Silva was.
People don’t realise how much heavyweight sucks. Of course Jan has a chance
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I’m not new. First live UfFC was row 2 in New Orleans 1998… I’ve been watching since the beginning and been to probably close to 60 or 70 MMA shows live.
I don’t think you understand Blachowicz because he is not fluid or pretty. Gives you the impression that his stand up is not elite. The dude can flat out strike and he hits hard.
Took him some time but the dude has put it together later in his career.
I think the elite guys like Stipe, Francis, the French dude, Volkov etc are horrible matchups based on there size and strength…
Blach has a great chin at 205. However, getting hit by a legit heavy is different.