Polish power is back in the win column after taking on #3 ranked Aleksandar Rakic in the main event of UFC on ESPN. The former 205-pound champ made a successful return after losing his belt via RNC to Glover last October. He won the fight via injury TKO in the 3rd.
In the fight, we were treated to an early back and forth that was dominated by leg and body kicks. Both Jan and Rakic implemented similar styles in that they wanted to punish their opponent before breaking them in the later rounds. Rackic was looking like the crisper faster striker, while everything Jan landed had bad intentions.
While many will say Jan got lucky and didn’t deserve to win let alone be the next man for the title, I would suggest you go back and watch the fight. While Rackic dominated the whole 2nd round, Jan was investing in the leg kicks and in the 3rd round he cashed in. According to Rakic, in camp, he had suffered the same injury and it was reaggravated.
It has been confirmed that Glover will defend his belt against #2 Jiri Prochazka in the main event at UFC Singapore on June 11th. But should Glover defend his title for the first time, could we potentially see a rematch? Glover has been tweeting his support and willingness to face Jan again should they both get wins.
Now, this win puts Jan back into contention with the possibility of facing the winner of the Main event in June. But will or should he get the next crack at the champ? After all the LHW division is full of fighters who are on longer win streaks than Jan.
While a rematch between two champions is always interesting, I feel as if there should be an official title eliminator between Jan and Magomed Ankalaev (17-1). The Russian fighter is currently riding an 8 fight win streak and has taken out #11 Krylov, #9 Volkan and #6 Santos in 3 straight fights. He is scheduled to face Anthony Smith at UFC 277.
The last two that should be in contention or at least in contention to face Jan are Paul Craig and Anthony Smith. While Paul is ranked #8, he is riding a 5-0-1 streak that has seen him become the Scottish T-City of 205 and is scheduled to face Volkan on July 30th. As for Smith, he is ranked #5 and is on a 3 fight win streak (all stoppages) but is 3-2 in his last 5 with both losses coming at the hands of Glover and Rakic. Should he take out Magomed there is no denying his status as a contender.
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