Jan Blachowicz Winless in Four Years After Belgrade TKO Loss to Navajo Stirling

Jan Blachowicz's slide keeps getting steeper. The 43-year-old former UFC light heavyweight champion was knocked down and then busted open by surging contender Navajo Stirling in Saturday's UFC Belgrade co-main event, with the ground-and-pound stoppage handing Stirling the biggest win of his young career. It's Blachowicz's most emphatic setback in a stretch that now stretches past four years without a victory.

That's the number that stings. Blachowicz hasn't had his hand raised since a third-round TKO of Aleksandar Rakic at UFC Vegas 54 in May 2022. Since then it's been two draws — against Magomed Ankalaev and Bogdan Guskov — sandwiched around decision losses to Alex Pereira and Carlos Ulberg. Add the Stirling knockout and that's a five-fight winless run for a man who once sat on top of the division.

From Champion to Cautionary Tale

It wasn't long ago Blachowicz was the story of the 205-pound picture. He knocked out Dominick Reyes at UFC 253 in September 2020 to claim the vacant belt, then defended it by out-pointing Israel Adesanya at UFC 259 six months later — one of the signature wins of his career. Glover Teixeira submitted him for the title at UFC 267 in October 2021, and Blachowicz hasn't been the same fighter since.

Blachowicz addressed the loss on Sunday, posting before-and-after images of the nasty cut Stirling's fists left behind along with his first public statement on the defeat. His message read like a man taking the beating in stride rather than looking for excuses — no small thing at this stage of a long, punishing run at the top of the division.

For Stirling, this is a genuine breakout. Toppling a former champion the way he did — dropping Blachowicz and finishing with strikes on the deck — is the kind of result that reshuffles a contender's standing, and the reaction from fellow pros framed him as a real problem at 205. The light heavyweight ladder is crowded, with names like Pereira (13-4, 11 KO, ranked No. 3) and Guskov (18-4-1, 15 KO) in the mix, but Stirling just made his case loudly.

The harder question is what's left for Blachowicz. At 43 and winless since Rakic, the arithmetic isn't kind. He's still a former champion with a knockout win over Adesanya on the résumé, but résumés don't win fights, and the last four years have made clear the top of this division has moved on.