Jan Blachowicz will return to the Octagon on January 20th at UFC 297 in a rematch against Aleksandar Rakic. In the first PPV of 2024, which will go live from Toronto, Canada, the former UFC light-heavyweight champion will step inside the UFC Octagon once again to take on the former foe in the form of Aleksandar Rakic.
The pair shared the cage back in May of 2022 in a fight that ended in the third round after Rakic suffered a vicious leg injury. In what was an extremely competitive affair, Rakic lost the fight via technical knockout when he was unable to continue after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament. The Austrian fighter has been out of action ever since and will make his walk to the Octagon for the first time in over 18 months.
Jan Blachowicz is coming off a split decision loss against Alex Pereira, having gone 1-1-1 in his last three fights. Interestingly enough, his last win came against Aleksandar Rakic.
UFC 297 main card so far
UFC 297 marks the promotion’s return to Canada. It will be UFC’s first event in Canada since UFC 231 in 2018, which was headlined by then-UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway and title contender Brian Ortega.
UFC 297 will feature the newly crowned middleweight champion Sean Strickland, who will take on Dricus du Plessis in his first title defense of the 185-pound gold.
The promotion is yet to confirm the complete main card, but confirmed bouts so far include Raquel Pennington vs. Mayra Bueno Silva, Neil Magny vs. Mike Malott, Charles Jourdain vs. Sean Woodson, and Serhiy Sidey vs. Ramon Taveras.
UFC 297 is shaping up to be an exciting card, and all eyes will be on the UFC as they announce more bouts for the first PPV of 2024.