Luke Rockhold expected to face Jan Blachowicz in light heavyweight debut at UFC 239

Former middleweight champion Luke Rockhold will finally make his long awaited move up to 205 pounds with a fight against Jan Blachowicz in the works for UFC 239 on July 6 in Las Vegas.

Sources close to the contest confirmed the news on Wednesday following an initial report from ESPN.

Rockhold has been teasing a move to light heavyweight for quite some time while also waiting for his body to get back to full health so he could fight again.

The former champion at 185 pounds is coming off a knockout loss to Yoel Romero in Feb. 2018 while going 1-2 over his past three fights in the middleweight division.

Due to the brutal weight cut to get down to middleweight, Rockhold ultimately decided to make the move to light heavyweight where he hopes to once again become a title contender.

As for Blachowicz, the Polish fighter is coming off a knockout loss of his own to Thiago Santos from the first ever UFC event in the Czech Republic in February.

That loss stopped a four-fight win streak from Blachowicz that included victories over Jimi Manuwa and Nikita Krylov.

Rockhold vs. Blachowicz is expected to take place at UFC 239, which will be the annual headliner for the UFC’s International Fight Week in Las Vegas in July.