Jan Blachowicz is unhappy with how Joe Rogan handled his post-fight interview at UFC 282 following his split draw with Magomed Ankalaev.
After 25 minutes of gruelling back-and-forth action, a dazed adrenaline-filled Blachowicz told Rogan he didn’t feel he had done enough to reclaim the light heavyweight title. However, the Polish native did insist he had to watch the fight back to give an honest review of his performance.
Having done exactly that, Blachowicz discloses he wasn’t pleased with the aftermath of the fight inside the cage, considering he had just gone through an incredibly tough high-profile outing.
Jan Blachowicz expresses his annoyance with Joe Rogan
“I watched this fight a couple of times and I listened to a lot of opinions about this fight and for me, what I said after the fight to give the belt to Ankalaev, I said that because I was stuck in the [fifth] round,” Jan Blachowicz explained when speaking to MMA Fighting. “All that was on my mind was the [fifth] round. I forgot completely about the rest of the fight.
“Joe Rogan, when he stepped into the octagon, he said for him I lost the fight. That was what I was thinking. He did a mistake that he say something like this to me after the fight. Because everybody who thinks that I lost the fight, watch only the last round. For me, a draw is a fair decision and seriously, I think that I was closer to winning the fight than Ankalaev. One more kick and it would be over, a TKO or if I would have defended his takedowns in the [fifth] round, stay a little bit longer on the feet, the fight would be mine. I could be disappointed about the [judges] but I’m not because I see the fight … I watched the fight a couple of times, a draw for me is fair.”
At the final bell, Blachowicz lifted Ankalaev’s hand, which in Rogan’s mind, insinuated that Blachowicz thought the Russian was the worthy winner. For that, Rogan pursued to label the former title holder an “honourable man”.
Having had time to reflect and assess each individual round, Blachowicz admits a draw was a fair result for both parties. Still, he doesn’t respect Rogan voicing his own opinion, possibly altering the viewers’ opinions.
Blachowicz expands on UFC 282 aftermath
“Joe Rogan, he shouldn’t say something like this to me after the fight,” Blachowicz said. “I was stuck in the last round and then Joe Rogan says ‘that was a good fight but for me you lost the fight.’ After the fight, when I go to the locker room and I start talking with a lot of people backstage from different teams, they said ‘don’t say that you lost the fight, you didn’t lose this fight, a round is OK but maybe you won the fight. So don’t say it.’
“I said OK, maybe I’m thinking a little bit bad about the fight and then I start to remember the first three rounds. It looks different, not like the last round. When they said the draw, it was a weird situation because I cannot be happy but I also cannot feel bad about myself. Because I didn’t win but I also didn’t [lose]. I feel a little bit empty inside.”
Blachowicz isn’t particularly campaigning that the result should have fallen in his favour. Nevertheless, he fails to see how people think Ankalaev was robbed.
“That’s why I think the draw is fair. It’s a fair decision for both of us,” Blachowicz said. “I should be more disappointed. Because I was closer to winning the fight, not Ankalaev.
“But it is what it is. What can I do? Nothing. Now it’s just history. I need to focus on the fight, what goes good, what [went wrong], it’s obvious and that’s it. It’s history right now.”
Ankalaev revealed after the fight in an interview with Dagestan News that he went through “the worst training camp” of his life leading into the bout and still believes he had done enough to leave with the belt.
Blachowicz doesn’t buy the “excuses” and thinks Ankalaev should standby his performance, as he has.
Blachowicz on Magomed Ankalaev
“Excuses. I hate when someone say it like this,” Blachowicz said about Ankalaev. “It pisses me off when someone uses excuses. I never say that my camp was bad, I have injuries or something like this. If you feel bad, stay home, drink tea with honey and relax. If you go to the fight, don’t excuse yourself. It just shows your weakness and that’s it.
“Everybody said that I was going to lose the fight, the bookmakers and everybody think that he will knock me out and finish me in the first round but I almost won the fight. Now he’s looking at excuses, why he was not so good in the fight. Why? Because I was very good in this fight. Because I don’t let him do what he always does in the fight. That was the reason. Now he says ‘I was injured, my camp was bad.’ Bulls***. I don’t believe in that. This is weakness. That’s it.”
