UFC 253: Jan Blachowicz has Jon Jones in his sights after clinching light heavyweight crown

Pole defeated Dominick Reyes comprehensively in Abu Dhabi

Israel Adesanya kicks Paulo Costa during their middleweight title bout at UFC 253 in Abu Dhabi. Josh Hedges / Zuffa LLC

UFC President Dana White places the championship belt on Israel Adesanya after defeating Paulo Costa in their middleweight title bout at UFC 253 in Abu Dhabi. Josh Hedges / Zuffa LLC

Israel Adesanya lands a kick to the head of Paulo Costa during their middleweight title fight at UFC 253 in Abu Dhabi. Josh Hedges / Zuffa LLC c

Paulo Costa punches Israel Adesanya during their middleweight title bout at UFC 253 in Abu Dhabi. Josh Hedges / Zuffa LLC

Jan Blachowicz of Poland celebrates after defeating Dominick Reyes in their light heavyweight championship bout at UFC 253 in Abu Dhabi. Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC v

Jan Blachowicz of Poland punches Dominick Reyes in their light heavyweight championship bout at UFC 253 in Abu Dhabi. Josh Hedges / Zuffa LLC

Sijara Eubanks punches Ketlen Vieira in their women's bantamweight bout at UFC 253 in Abu Dhabi. Josh Hedges / Zuffa LLC

Ketlen Vieira punches Sijara Eubanks in their women's bantamweight bout at UFC 253 in Abu Dhabi. Josh Hedges / Zuffa LLC

Hakeem Dawodu punches Zubaira Tukhugov in their featherweight bout during UFC 253 in Abu Dhabi. Josh Hedges / Zuffa LLC

Zubaira Tukhugov punches Hakeem Dawodu in their featherweight bout during UFC 253 in Abu Dhabi. Josh Hedges / Zuffa LLC

Brandon Royval kicks Kai Kara France in their flyweight bout during UFC 253 in Abu Dhabi. Josh Hedges / Zuffa LLC

Kai Kara France punches Brandon Royval in their flyweight bout during UFC 253 in Abu Dhabi. Josh Hedges / Zuffa LLC

Jan Blachowicz punches Dominick Reyes in their light heavyweight championship bout during UFC 253 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Josh Hedges / Zuffa LLC

Dominick Reyes punches Jan Blachowicz in their light heavyweight championship bout during UFC 253 in Abu Dhabi. Josh Hedges / Zuffa LLC

Khabib Nurmagomedov corners Zubaira Tukhugov of Russia inside Flash Forum in Abu Dhabi. Josh Hedges / Zuffa LLC

Hakeem Dawodu of Canada reacts after defeating Zubaira Tukhugov of Russia in their featherweight bout. Josh Hedges / Zuffa LLC

Sijara Eubanks kicks Ketlen Vieira of Brazil in their women's bantamweight bout. Josh Hedges / Zuffa LLC

Ketlen Vieira of Brazil after defeating Sijara Eubanks in their women's bantamweight bout. Josh Hedges / Zuffa LLC

Brandon Royval attempts to submit Kai Kara France of New Zealand in their flyweight bout. Josh Hedges / Zuffa LLC

Brandon Royval reacts after submitting Kai Kara France of New Zealand in their flyweight bout. Josh Hedges / Zuffa LLC

Newly crowned UFC light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz has set sights on a clash with former belt-holder Jon Jones after dispatching Dominick Reyes emphatically in Abu Dhabi on Sunday.

The giant Pole, 37, endorsed his recent rise through the promotion by stopping his rival in the second round of the co-main event at Flash Forum. He downed Reyes, 31, with a flurry of blows not long before the bell sounded.

Sealing his first UFC title, Blachowicz extended his winning streak to four, while moving to 8-1 in his past nine fights.

He’s now looking for a shot at Jones, who vacated the belt last month to move up to heavyweight. Many consider the American to be the greatest UFC athlete of all time.

“Right now we can talk about him because I didn’t want to talk about him before the fight because my opponent was Dominick,” Blachowicz said at the post-fight press conference. “Now I don’t have an opponent, so Jon Jones why not?

“Nobody knows what he’s doing right now, so we’ll see. He promised me this fight in [his hometown] Albuquerque after I knocked out Corey Anderson.”

With Jones still viewed as an unlikely next opponent, Blachowicz said he would be keen to avenge his most recent defeat: the February 2019 loss to Thiago Santos.

Blachowicz, whose record now stands at 27-8 (10-5 in UFC), proved too strong on Sunday for Reyes, who entered the contest as favourite but suffered the second defeat of his career.

“I still don’t believe, but it’s here,” Blachowicz said. “It’s not a dream right? It happened. I have the legendary Polish power; I proved it one more time. Amazing.

“It’s been a long journey for me. Sometimes I was on the top, then I lose a couple fights, but I never stop believing in my skills, in my power. Here I am, the champion. Like I said before, even a pandemic can’t stop me right now.

“I feel really great in the fight. I saw almost everything he did. In the second round when I broke his nose, I knew that the finish will be soon. I hope that [Jones] watched the fight and that he cuts his weight again and that we meet at 205 [lbs].”

UFC 253 opened “Return to Fight Island”, the second residency in Abu Dhabi. With four more events to come, it closes with UFC 254 on October 24.