Jan Blachowicz has a rather strange pre-fight ritual.
Blachowicz and Dominick Reyes will battle for the vacant UFC light heavyweight title in the co-main event of UFC 253. While every fighter has their own pre-fight ritual(s), one of Blachowicz’s rituals includes touching a rope he found on a hanged man.
“‘When you find a hanged man, you take his rope for luck,” Blachowicz said ahead of the event (via Steven Marrocco of MMA Fighting). “‘That’s what people believed in the old days.’ I checked the internet, and sure enough, that is exactly what people thought and believed in. If you don’t believe me, check for yourself.”
Blachowicz didn’t provide any further details about when he found the hanged man or the details behind why it all went down. The fighter says that he has mentioned the pre-fight ritual to the UFC before, but they never took advantage of the situation.
“Maybe the UFC also had the same problem with the sound, I need to ask them about that,” he said. “That’s some ‘Paranormal Activity’ stuff right there.”
UFC 253 takes place on Saturday, September 26 from Fight Island in Yas Island, Abu Dhabi with Israel Adesanya and Paulo Costa headlining. Fightful is providing live coverage of the event, which streams live on ESPN+ pay-per-view.
Fightful has all of your MMA needs covered. Follow us on Twitter for updates, and subscribe to our YouTube channel for exclusive interviews, lists, news updates and predictions.
