Former champ Jan Blachowicz set to return against Carlos Ulberg at UFC London

Former UFC light-heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz is set to make his return to action when the organization visits London, England, in the first quarter of next year.

The UFC announced Tuesday that Blachowicz will face streaking 205-pounder Carlos Ulberg in a featured Fight Night bout at The O2 Arena on March 22.

Blachowicz was scheduled to compete at UFC 297 at the beginning of 2024, however, a shoulder injury and subsequent surgery led to him sitting out the entire year.

He has not fought since he lost a three-round split decision at UFC 291, when he welcomed current champion Alex Pereia to the 205-pound division.

Blachowicz, who turns 42 in February, won the title that Jon Jones had vacated in 2020 by knocking out Dominick Reyes at UFC 253. Blachowicz defended the belt against then-middleweight champion Israel Adesanya at UFC 259 in 2021 before losing it to Glover Teixeira later that year at UFC 267.

The Polish star followed up his title loss by picking up a win over Aleksandar Rakic due to an injury stoppage before fighting Magomed Ankalaev to a split draw in their vacant title fight at the end of 2022. Blachowicz is still ranked as the No. 4 contender despite his inactivity.

Ulberg, 34, improved to 11-1 as a pro in November, when he won a three-round unanimous decision over one-time title challenger Volkan Oezdemir to extend his winning streak to seven. The New Zealander is a member of the City Kickboxing team and is the No. 7-ranked contender at 205 pounds.

The UFC also announced a heavyweight bout between Marcin Tybura and England’s Mick Parkin will take place at the event. 

Tybura, 39, is ranked No. 8 at heavyweight and coming off a TKO win over Jhonata Diniz at UFC 309 in November. 

Parkin, 29, is a teammate and training partner of interim heavyweight titleholder Tom Aspinall and improved to 10-0 in July with a TKO win over Lukasz Brzeski at UFC 304.