Get the inside scoop on the early main card fights for UFC Gdansk, featuring former KSW light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz giving youngster Devin Clark a rude welcoming to Poland.
Though the choices to round out the main card appear to be curious at first glance, fans have to remember where the event is taking place. Jan Blachowicz has struggled in his UFC run, clocking in at a disappointing 2-4. However, he was one of the bigger stars in the popular Polish promotion KSW, holding their light heavyweight belt before making his ways overseas into the UFC. Though the debuting Oskar Piechota didn’t fight for KSW, most of his career has been spent in the Polish regional scene before winning the Cage Warriors middleweight strap earlier this year. While neither has built up the cache a few of the other fighters on the undercard have, their placement on the card makes more sense once you dig a bit deeper.
The main card begins 3:00 PM ET/12:00 PM PT on Saturday on Fight Pass.
Jan Blachowicz (19-7) vs. Devin Clark (8-1), Light Heavyweight
After a disastrous UFC debut at middleweight, Clark has rebounded with a pair of strong performances after moving back up to light heavyweight. Sure, he may be undersized at 205, but the results have spoken for themselves. Relying heavily on his wrestling prowess, Clark pursues the takedown with reckless abandon, not worrying too much about energy conservation as his miniscule weight cut often leaves him in good shape to push a fast pace. Though he shows good timing, he doesn’t always disguise his shots very well, leaving him on wrong end of exchanges in those instances. His standup is still very raw with low kicks being his most consistent weapon from a distance.
Blachowicz represents the opposite spectrum of what Clark provides. Perhaps one of the best pure strikers at 205, Blachowicz’s UFC career has been marred by his inability to stuff takedowns. On the feet, he’s very accurate with the need for a lot of room to operate. Unless he hurts his opponent – at which point he is willing to swarm – Blachowicz tends to stay on the outside and pick his spots. And just ask Ilir Latifi about Blachowicz’s body kicks. He’s shown improved punching combinations in the pocket as well. Most encouraging, the Pole did show improved takedown defense in his last contest against former collegiate wrestling All-American Patrick Cummins, stuffing most of the early attempts before fading.
It isn’t difficult to see that Clark has far more long-term potential than Blachowicz, not to mention the ability to expose Blachowicz’s weaknesses. However, Blachowicz is far more experienced and there is very little he hasn’t seen. Clark has yet to face a precision striker such as Blachowicz and I fear it could be too much for the youngster to handle at this stage of his career. If he can get Blachowicz to the ground early in every round, he’s got an excellent chance of walking out the victor. However, every round starts on the feet, meaning Blachowicz will have his opportunities to score his offense and secure a win in his home country. Blachowicz via TKO, RD2
Oskar Piechota (9-0) vs. Jonathan Wilson (7-2), Middleweight
After a couple of brutal beatings at the hands of Henrique da Silva and Ion Cutelaba, Wilson decided his frame was better suited for middleweight. Now he welcomes Piechota to the UFC.
It doesn’t take much film watching to recognize two things with Wilson. First, he’s athletically gifted. Secondly, he’s far from a finished product despite having a place on the UFC roster for nearly three years. Given that he joined the roster just over a year into his professional career – and beat up on cans before making the jump -- it isn’t that surprising. He’s made progress in some areas such as energy management, but still relies heavily on his physical gifts to make up for any technical shortcomings. Moving down to 185 will help in preventing him from being bullied as he was at light heavyweight, but will it fix his lack of angles, footwork, and overall defensive skills? Obviously not, but the year away may have helped shore up those deficiencies.
Though they have the same amount of contests under their belts, Piechota’s experience against quality opposition – and overall years spent training in the sport -- has resulted in a far more mature approach in the cage. Despite being known as a grappler, he’s a skilled counter puncher who has secured quick finishes on the strength of his striking in his last two contests. Nonetheless, his BJJ skills are his bread and butter as he slices through his opponent’s guard like butter while effectively using ground strikes to effectively set up those passes and potential submissions. He is a bit stiff on the feet, but has been able to make up for that with his excellent timing.
Wilson is a classic example of why the UFC should allow talent to develop on the regional scene rather than scooping them up too soon. He simply relied on overwhelming his opponents in each of his victories and has been lost when that approach hasn’t worked in his last two contests. Piechota may be the lesser athlete, but he knows what he is doing in the cage, transitioning from phase to phase with ease. Wilson has shown some durability, but he hasn’t shown much in terms of grappling. Should he be as inadequate on the ground as I fear he is, this contest won’t last long. Piechota via submission, RD2
