New Jersey’s UFC 328 card on May 9th has taken a big hit as featured prelim fighter and former light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz has been forced to pull out.
The 43-year-old Blachowicz announced the news on his Instagram, blaming a torn meniscus for the withdrawal.
“Don’t count your chickens before they hatch,” Blachowicz wrote. “I was supposed to be in the States next week, but plans had to change. I’m beyond pissed. Last round of sparring, wrong position and a kick to the knee. Torn meniscus.”
“The plan and goal were clear, so the disappointment is huge. But this isn’t the end! I’m already working on getting back as soon as possible.”
Blachowicz has struggled to stay healthy over the past few years, only fighting three times since 2023. A neck injury in 2022 and then serious double shoulder injury in 2024 have left Jan without the “Legendary Polish Power” that carried him through the earlier stages of his career. He went 0-2-1 in that period.
His last fight was a draw against Bogdan Guskov at UFC 323, which set the stage for this UFC 328 rematch. But now it is no more, and Blachowicz is clearly viewing his return through the lens of the end of his career.
“Coming back to finish things on my own terms,” he wrote. “See you soon! Oss.”
There’s been no word yet on whether the 18-3 Bogdan Guskov will remain on the card.
Blachowicz is currently 29-11-2 and 12-8 in the UFC. He held the UFC light heavyweight belt from 2020 to 2021, winning the vacant title against Dominick Reyes and defending it against Israel Adesanya before dropping it to Glover Teixeira. He’s gone 1-2-2 from there, but that record doesn’t capture how competitive he was in those losses, including one very close fight to current 205 pound champ Carlos Ulberg last March.
A torn meniscus can take two to six months for an athlete to rehab depending on its severity. Hopefully Blachowicz recover quickly and finish his career out on a win or two, but pulling that off in the UFC is often a tough task.
