Blachowicz, Rakic set for rematch at UFC 297

A light heavyweight clash between former champion Jan Blachowicz and Aleksandar Rakic will take place at UFC 297 on Jan. 20 in Toronto, the promotion announced Saturday.

Blachowicz got a TKO win over Rakic last year after the Austrian fighter suffered a knee injury midway through their fight.

Rakic, who'd won six of his seven UFC fights prior to taking on Blachowicz the first time, hasn't fought since the main-event bout.

Blachowicz is looking to get back on track after suffering a split-decision loss to Alex Pereira and a split draw against Magomed Ankalaev in a vacant title bout.

The 40-year-old won the light heavyweight crown by beating Dominick Reyes in 2020 after Jon Jones gave up the belt.

Blachowicz defended the title against then-middleweight champion Israel Adesanya in March 2021 before dropping it to Glover Teixeira seven months later.

In addition to Blachowicz-Rakic, the UFC also announced that a featherweight bout between Arnold Allen and Movsar Evloev and a light heavyweight tilt between Dominick Reyes and Carlos Ulberg will take place at the Jan. 20 pay-per-view event.