Dana White confirms Dominick Reyes vs. Jan Blachowicz will be for vacant UFC light heavyweight title

UFC president Dana White confirmed that Dominick Reyes and Jan Blachowicz will compete for the vacant UFC light heavyweight title.

Reyes vs. Blachowicz was announced on Monday and later in the day Jon Jones announced that he has vacated his belt on Twitter. Speaking to reporters following Tuesday’s edition of the Contender Series, White confirmed that Jones has vacated the title, and the fight between Reyes and Blachowicz at UFC 253 will crown a new champion at 205lbs.

“It’s official, yeah,” Dana White said of Jones vacating the UFC light heavyweight title.

“Yeah, (Reyes vs. Blachowicz) for the vacant title.”

Reyes and Blachowicz were both gunning to get the next crack at Jones, but it turns out they will be fighting each other, instead, with the vacant 205lbs belt on the line. The two will meet in the co-main event of UFC 253, which takes place on September 26 at a location that White has not yet announced. The main event of the card sees UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya take on Paulo Costa.

Reyes is coming off of a razor-thin unanimous decision defeat to Jones back at UFC 247 in February. Many fans and media felt that Reyes deserve to earn the nod on the judges’ scorecards that night, but it wasn’t meant to be. Overall, Reyes is 6-1 in the UFC.

As for Blachowicz, he is coming off of back-to-back-to-back wins over Luke Rockhold, Ronaldo Souza, and Corey Anderson. The Pole is 9-5 in the UFC overall and at age 37 he will finally get the chance to fight for his first UFC title after years of putting in work.

The betting odds for the Reyes vs. Blachowicz fight have been released, with Reyes opening as a 2-to-1 favorite to become the new UFC light heavyweight champion.

Who do you think becomes the new UFC light heavyweight champion, Dominick Reyes or Jan Blachowicz?