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Jan Blachowicz continues rematch mastery with Corey Anderson KO: 'It's a mental thing'

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RIO RANCHO, N.M. – Jan Blachowicz remained perfect in rematches when he avenged yet another career loss on Saturday, this time against Corey Anderson.

Following an utterly one-sided unanimous decision loss to Anderson (13-4 MMA, 10-4 UFC) at UFC 191 in September 2015 that included a pair of 30-25 scorecards, Blachowicz (26-8 MMA, 9-5 UFC) avenged the loss with force by scoring a brutal first-round knockout in the UFC on ESPN+ 25 headliner.

The win, which took place at Santa Ana Star Center, may have solidified Blachowicz’s chance to next challenge Jon Jones for the UFC light heavyweight title. He felt he would be able to make the necessary adjustments to get one back on Anderson, and that’s exactly what happened.

“I think it was going to be that way but in the second round,” Blachowicz told reporters, including MMA Junkie, post-fight at UFC on ESPN+ 25. “You can check my interview before the fight. I think it’s going to be a left or right hand in the second round, not the first. But first is good with me.

“It’s an amazing feeling. I beat the guy who beat me in the first fight really badly. Like I said before: Same opponent, new story, so it tastes really, really good. To beat someone who destroyed me in the first fight this way, it’s amazing.”

The result marked the third time in Blachowicz’s career that he won a second encounter with an opponent after losing the first. Anderson joined Jimi Manuwa and Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou as fighters who succumbed to Blachowicz’s rematch adjustments.

Blachowicz said he doesn’t know exactly why he thrives in rematches, but he’s not ignorant to the trend.

“I think this is something in my head,” Blachowicz said. “When I fight against someone a second time – not only in fights, but also in training when someone comes the second time. I’m always much better. I don’t know. Maybe it’s a mental thing. I don’t know.”

Blachowicz said the fight with Anderson was over so quick that he couldn’t really scout the evolution in talent since the first meeting. He managed to keep the fight standing and avoid grappling situations that led to his demise less than five years ago, though, and it’s hard for Blachowicz to be anything but pleased with the outcome.

“Hard to say (how much he changed) because it was just three minutes of the fight,” Blachowicz said. “But I knew it would be a different Corey, and I would be different, too, because it was five years ago and everything changed.”

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