It’s fight night! Jan Blachowicz will once again enter into the worlds most famous Octagon to face former middleweight champion, Luke Rockhold. Most of you probably believe that Polish people support Blachowicz purely because of his nationality. Well, it’s not false assumption. But it is not 100% accurate.

Come and see why we, the Polish, support Jan Blachowicz.

1 – Ambition

KSW is a major polish and top European MMA promotion. Their influence on Polish MMA is so important, that they can hold certain fighters under their banner by offering more money than a standard UFC contract. For westerners 10 thousand dollars may not seem like a reasonable salary for fist fighting. In Poland, a contract for 10 thousand dollars seems like an insanely high amount of money. That is why the big names of Polish MMA like Khalidov or Narkun decided to stay in KSW – they got good pay for, let’s face it, less challenge.

And here comes Blachowicz. Jan was the KSW Light heavyweight champion for years and his massive popularity along fan support was very high in Poland. He admitted many times, that KSW offered him way more than his first UFC contract. When Khalidov, Narkun, Gamrot and Materla declined the offer from some of the biggest US MMA organizations in the world, Jan decided to instead accept the western offer and he went on to test his skill set on a worldwide scale against the elite.

2 – Fighting style

Don’t ever sleep on a Jan Blachowicz fight. Whenever he is taking short notice fights like with Cannonier or Manuwa, fighting to keep his UFC career alive with Clarke or just for top contender status with Krylov – Jan is always coming to give you an exciting fight. Muay Thai stand up combined with Brazilian Jiu-jitsu black belt ground skills makes him one of the most enjoyable fighters to watch on the UFC roster.

Also we can’t be so quick to forget about his tendency to brawl. One of my all time favorite “just bleed” moments comes when Jan, previously hit with a high kick, invited Jimi Manuwa, one of the most ferocious power launchers, into a brawl. Insane.

3 – Just a guy, like you and me

Despite Jan being considered as a top MMA star in Poland, Jan never changed his attitude or got caught up in the MMA. He is just an everyday man, singing his favorites songs while driving the car, playing with his dog or playing video games. You can find him in the bar or at a nerd convention. He never refuses a hand shake or picture with a fan.

If he remembers your face, next time you meet he’ll bring it up and make small talk about your last encounter. He’s just an all-round super nice guy and one we can all get behind and root for. Example? Jan was a guest in my gym 5 years ago. I met him again last year, during a local MMA event. After going for a hand shake he asked if I am still training and how is my head coach. 

It is not purely because of nationality why Polish people love Jan Blachowicz.. It’s the whole story of who he is both everyday and inside the cage. And that is how, despite the fight taking place in the middle of the night, many Polish fans will wake up just to cheer for our guy.

Wojna Janek!