UFC 323 star was once left temporarily ‘paralyzed’ in terrifying training injury

A former UFC champion experienced a “scary” situation when preparing for a fight.

Plenty of notable names will set the stage for two headlining title fights at Saturday’s UFC 323 pay-per-view in Las Vegas, which marks the final numbered event on ESPN ahead of the promotion switch to Paramount+ in 2026.

Before bantamweight king Merab Dvalishvili’s title defense against Petr Yan and Joshua Van’s challenge against flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja, Brandon Moreno, Henry Cejudo, and Jan Blachowicz mark three former titleholders set for the main card.

And one of those UFC veterans had a frightening situation behind the scenes just less than four years ago…

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Jan Blachowicz could not feel one side of his body after a shot in training

Blachowicz, a former light heavyweight champ who remains inside the division’s top five, will return to action against Bogdan Guskov at UFC 323.

The 42-year-old made it to fight week and will be hoping to avoid any mishaps before entering the cage on December 6, which is more than can be said for his failed showdown at the start of 2022.

Blachowicz was forced to withdraw from UFC Columbus due to an injury, and he later disclosed the terrifying nature of a training moment that left him temporarily paralyzed.

“I wake up (on) one of the Mondays, and I feel a pain in my neck,” Blachowicz explained to MMA Fighting. “I think maybe I just slept bad, and that’s why I felt the pain.

“In the gym, we did some drills, and I took one shot on my guard, and I felt a really hard pain in my neck, and I cannot feel my left hand and left side of my body.

“It was completely off, paralyzed,” he continued. “Then I think, it’s not a normal pain. It’s something worse. I go to the doctor, we do an MRI and I have something (a disc) in my neck that puts pressure on the nerve. That’s why I had this feeling that I could not feel my left side.

“It was scary. You don’t know what happened. You can’t move your left hand. It was a weird feeling for me. A new thing, a scary thing.”

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Jan Blachowicz wants to begin his road to an Alex Pereira rematch at UFC 323

Blachowicz returned from a two-year injury layoff this past March in London, where he fell to a close decision defeat against top contender Carlos Ulberg.

Despite that setback, the Polish powerhouse is not giving up hope of making his way back to the light heavyweight throne.

Before the loss to Ulberg, Blachowicz was the opponent for Alex Pereira’s debut in the division. He gave ‘Poatan’ one of his toughest tests inside the Octagon and maintains that he deserved the win, which ultimately went Pereira’s way via split decision.

By stalling the rise of Guskov at UFC 323, Blachowicz is hoping to begin his path to a rematch with the Brazilian, who recently began his second stint as champion at 205 pounds.