By The Numbers: Jan Blachowicz vs. Aleksandar Rakic

Obvious title implications mark their encounter, even though the buzz surrounding it may be minimal.

Jan Blachowicz will face Aleksandar Rakic in the UFC on ESPN 36 main event this Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, where the victor could emerge as the next No. 1 contender in the Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight division. Blachowicz has rattled off five wins across his past six appearances. However, the former champion finds himself on the rebound after he submitted to a rear-naked choke from Glover Teixeira and surrendered his light heavyweight title in the second round of their UFC 267 headliner on Oct. 30. Rakic, meanwhile, enters the cage on the strength of back-to-back victories. He has not competed since he took a unanimous decision from Thiago Santos at UFC 259 in March 2021.

As Blachowicz and Rakic approach their high-stakes showdown at 205 pounds, a look at some of the numbers that have accompanied them to this point:

39: Years of age for Blachowicz, who was born on Feb. 24, 1983 in Cieszyn, Poland.

9: Blachowicz wins by submission, accounting for 32% of his career total (28). His methods of choice: five rear-naked chokes, four armbars and one arm-triangle choke. Blachowicz owns eight other wins by knockout or technical knockout and 11 more by decision.

398: Days spent by Blachowicz as undisputed UFC light heavyweight champion. He captured the vacant 205-pound crown with a second-round technical knockout of Dominick Reyes at UFC 253 on Sept. 26, 2020 and retained it with a five-round unanimous decision over Israel Adesanya at UFC 259 a little more than five months later before being dethroned in his aforementioned loss to Teixeira.

64: Rounds completed by Blachowicz as a professional mixed martial artist. He has gone the distance on 16 different occasions and carries an 11-5 record in those bouts.

148: Combined victories between the nine opponents—Teixeira, Santos, Patrick Cummins, Alexander Gustafsson, Corey Anderson, Jimi Manuwa, Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou, Andre Fyeet and Marcin Krysztofiak—who have defeated Blachowicz. They boast a .667 cumulative winning percentage (148-74).

30: Years of age for Rakic, who was born in Vienna, Austria, on Feb. 6, 1992.

9: Rakic victories by knockout or technical knockout, accounting for 64% of his career total (14). His list of victims includes Manuwa, Devin Clark and Marcin Prachnio. Rakic holds one other victory by submission—he dispatched Peter Rozmaring with a north-south choke at a Vendetta event in 2013—and four more by decision.

26: Seconds needed for Rakic to punch out Martin Batur at Final Fight Championship 16 on Dec. 6, 2014. Having occurred more than seven years ago, it remains his fastest finish to date.

130: Significant strikes by which Rakic has outlanded his seven UFC opponents. He has connected with 338 such strikes while absorbing only 208 in return.

.750: Cumulative winning percentage between the two opponents—Volkan Oezdemir and Christian Radke—who have beaten Rakic. They sport a combined record of 18-6.