Video | New UFC champ Jan Blachowicz gets swarmed by fans in Poland

New UFC light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz got a reception worthy of a national hero upon his return home to his native Poland.

Wejście smoka @JanBlachowicz❗😍 Zaskoczył wszystkich #LegendaryPolishPower pic.twitter.com/LJGH37tWBq

— TVP SPORT (@sport_tvppl) September 28, 2020

Blachowicz, who was born in Cieszyn and now fights out of Warsaw, took on Dominick Reyes for the vacant UFC light heavyweight title in the co-main event of UFC 253 last Saturday. Despite entertaining the Octagon as a noteworthy underdog, he wound up winning the title with a second-round knockout of his rival, who had never been stopped before.

Just days after being crowned the new UFC light heavyweight champion, Blachowicz left Abu Dhabi, where the fight went down, and returned home to Poland. There were throngs of dedicated Polish fans waiting for him on the ground when he landed. Blachowicz’s team broadcasted his arrival on Instagram live. The scene was also captured by Polish network TVP Sport. See it at the top of this article.

After winning the UFC light heavyweight title at UFC 253, Jan Blachowicz seems to have plenty of options in terms of challengers.

Speaking at the UFC 253 post-fight press conference, UFC President Dana White pointed to the winner of an upcoming fight between Thiago Santos and Glover Teixeira as the next man in line for the new champ. Santos actually holds a recent knockout win over Blachowicz, while Teixeira is on a four-fight win-streak in the division.

That being said, White also admitted that the next shot at Blachowicz could go to Jon Jones, who vacated the title earlier this summer, clearing the way for Blachowicz and Reyes to fight for the belt.

“Those are the guys that are fighting for the next shot,” White said of Santos and Teixeira. “But obviously if Jon Jones wanted that fight, we wouldn’t deny Jon Jones the opportunity.”

Jan Blachowicz is the second Polish fighter to capture gold in the UFC. The first was his long-time friend Joanna Jedrzejczyk, who previously ruled over the strawweight division.

What do you think the future holds for the new champ Blachowicz after UFC 253?