Former UFC bantamweight champion, Jan Blachowicz, has confirmed the cancellation of his fight with Aleksandar Rakic, which was scheduled to take place on Jan. 20 at UFC 297 in Toronto.
“It wasn’t supposed to happen like this,” the Polish fighter wrote on social media. “It’s hard to express how I feel right now because it’s a mixture of anger and sadness. Refusing to fight because of an injury is one of the hardest decisions a fighter can make. However, sometimes there’s no other option, especially if you’re competing in the top five and you want to put on a top level show.”
“Instead of fighting to be in better shape, I’m fighting through the pain in every workout. I’ve done my best but my shoulders need surgery. It would be irresponsible and stupid to continue training and step into the octagon in this condition. I always say that when I go into a fight, I have to be 100% ready. I have to do it for myself, for my coaches, for my opponent, and first of all, for the fans. Thank you all in advance for your support! I am waiting for the date of the surgery, after which I will start the process of rehabilitation and return to training. I promise that I will come back stronger than I was before!”
Blachowicz also responded to an opponent who criticized him for refusing the fight.
“First he cries because I broke him, then he cries because I need to take care of my injury. Be happy that I won’t break you this time too. Now you can go and keep crying.”
Recall that the bantamweight bout was supposed to be a rematch. Last May, Rakic was unable to continue his fight with Blachowicz, suffering a knee injury in the third round, and has not returned to the octagon since, while the former UFC champion had two more fights, drawing a fight for the vacant championship belt with Magomed Ankalaev, and losing by split decision to Alex Pereira in a challenger’s match.
Source: https://fighttime.ru/news/item/33342-yan-blakhovich-sdelal-zayavlenie-ob-otmene-boya-s-aleksandrom-rakichem.html?rand=19907
