Jan Blachowicz, the former UFC light heavyweight champion, provided an update on his health two weeks after withdrawing from a rematch with Aleksandar Rakic scheduled for UFC 297 on Jan. 20. Blachowicz revealed that he has undergone surgery on one shoulder, and while there was too much work to address both shoulders simultaneously, he plans to have another surgery soon to take care of the second one.
In a social media post, Blachowicz stated, “First shoulder operated on. Unfortunately, there was too much work to do with one, so they couldn’t fix both at once. Another surgery soon. I’ll have to wait a little longer to come back.”
Approaching his 41st birthday in two months, the timeline for Blachowicz’s return to fighting shape remains uncertain. His most recent bout took place at UFC 291 in July, where he suffered a narrow split decision loss to future champion Alex Pereira. Before that, Blachowicz had a title opportunity, fighting Magomed Ankalaev to a split draw at UFC 282 with the vacant belt on the line.
While Blachowicz faces a recovery period, Aleksandar Rakic, his originally scheduled opponent, has been re-booked to face Jiri Prochazka at UFC 300 in Las Vegas on April 13, following the cancellation of their UFC 297 clash.