The MMA Daily

It’s funny how things work sometimes, as both men have had wild journey’s to get to this point. Jan Blachowicz was once on the UFC chopping block, having lost four of five fights at one point. Even worse, three of the losses were due to his inability to stuff a takedown. Then, Blachowicz evolved and went on an unbelievable streak that led him to become a UFC Champion and the first person to defeat Israel Adesanya in mixed martial arts. Then there is Glover Teixeira, who lost to Jon Jones in a title fight seven years ago. Determination and an ability to get past several hurdles along the way, Teixeira worked his way back up against the division’s best to get his second crack at UFC gold. As for the fight, both men are fairly well rounded. Teixeira is an excellent boxer who has excellent grappling and submission abilities. Blachowicz is a technical striker who has power in both his hands and his legs. The Pole is also an underrated wrestler and grappler, having turned in from a weakness to a strength during his championship run.

As for a prediction, on a whim, I’m going with Teixeira. In what should be a good fight, Teixeira most likely is outmatched on the feet. However, his wrestling and grappling is where I see an avenue to victory. Despite Blachowicz’s improvements in that department, he is yet to truly be tested due to his uncanny ability to flatline opponents. Given Teixeira has shown at times to have potential chin issues, I do have some concern. However, Teixeira has been knocked only three times in thirty nine fines and not since a little over four years ago. So with all that said, I’m predicting that Teixeira pulls out one more upset, defeating Blachowicz via submission.