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Luke Rockhold Faces Jan Blachowicz In Light Heavyweight Debut At UFC 239:

Who rebounds with a win at UFC 239?

 Former UFC and Strikeforce Middleweight gold holder Luke Rockhold will make his long rumoured Light Heavyweight bow this summer on International Fight Week's UFC 239 as he meets Polish striker Jan Blachowicz. Both men are looking to bounce back from stoppage losses with Rockhold suffering a vicious loss to Yoel Romero last year in Australia, while Thiago Santos continued his stream rolling of the division with a third round finish of the former KSW Light Heavyweight champion Blachowicz at UFC Fight Night Prague recently.

 Spending the majority of his previous fight camp at coach Henri Hooft's Hard Knocks 365 gym rather than the American Kickboxing Academy, Rockhold was paired with Cuban freestyle wrestler Yoel Romero for the Interim Middleweight championship at UFC 221, and was on the receiving end of one of the most brutal knockout defeats in Octagon antiquity. Unable to deal with Yoel's bizarre swarming almost karate blitz like approaches throughout the opening two rounds, Rockhold was caught with an overhand left in the opening stages of the third sending him face first into the fence before a brutal left uppercut from 'The Soldier OF God' firmly brought a stop to the contest. Earning the title with a ground and pound display at the mercy of Chris Weidman at UFC 194, Rockhold immediately dropped the crown to Michael Bisping in a short notice rematch. Taking some time off from the sport to reevaluate his career, Rockhold survived some early pressure from fellow Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt David Branch to force the tap due to strikes from the former WSOF two weight champion. A run at Light Heavyweight has been on the cards for some time now for California's Rockhold, but a pairing with fellow adapt grappler Jan Blachowicz should not be overlooked.

 Winner of the KSW Light Heavyweight tournament on three separate occasions, Poland native Jan Blachowicz has had mixed fortunes since his transition to the Ultimate Fighting Championship back in 2014. Opening his Octagon account with an eye catching finish of the monstrous Ilir Latifi, Blachowicz dropped two consecutive decisions to Jimi Manuwa and Corey Anderson before a win of his own against Igor Pokrajac, was followed by two more defeats to Alexander Gustafsson and Patrick Cummins. Going on a four fight tear afterwards, decision victories over Devin Clark, an undersized Jared Cannonier, Jimi Manuwa were followed by an arm-triangle win over Nikita Krylov before his eventual loss to Thiago Santos at the end of February. Jan has a well rounded striking game with a 37-0 undefeated Kickboxing career and that aforementioned Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt to boot. 

 UFC 239 takes place on International Fight Week on July 6th. from the T-Mobile Arena is Las Vegas, and although Rockhold vs. Blachowicz has been the only bout confirmed so far, the fact that the event takes place during International Fight Week should guarantee a stacked card from top to bottom.
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