Check back in on this post later on to see who won the UFC 282 main event, which is going down from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The UFC’s vacant light heavyweight belt will be up for grabs when a former champion in Jan Blachowicz goes up against a hungry contender in Magomed Ankalaev.
Since losing his title, Blachowicz picked up a win over Aleksandar Rakic to put himself right back in the title mix at 205-pounds. As for the UFC’s #4 ranked 205-pounder Ankalaev, he has proven his worth by winning nine UFC fights in a row to get here — which is no easy task to say the least. With Jiri Prochazka willfully surrendering the title to tend to an injury, a new light heavyweight king will be crowned tonight.
The early prelims begin at 6:00pm ET/3:00pm, PT, immediately followed by the regular preliminary card. Both broadcasts can be streamed on ESPN+. The PPV main card is slated for 10:00pm ET/7:00pm PT, and can be purchased on ESPN+.
Magomed Ankalaev vs. Jan Blachowicz ends in split draw (48-47, 46-48, 47-47): Light Heavyweight Title
Ankalaev brought the pressure in the opening round. He deployed a lot of front kicks to the body, and poked at Jan from the outside. Blachowicz wasn’t throwing as often, but when he did go, he reminded everyone of his power. Jan was also being effective with his leg kicks.
Ankalaev continued to fight long in the second round, staying on the outside of Blachowicz’s power. Blachowicz went back to his leg kick, and buckled Ankalaev at one point. Jan returned to his leg attack, again compromising the mobility of Ankalaev. A couple of takedown attempts from Ankalaev came next, but Blachowicz was having none of it.
Blachowicz went right back to his leg kicks in the third round, and Ankalaev appeared to be in a lot of trouble. Ankalaev started to come forward behind some haymakers, showing some urgency and trying to take off the head of Blachowicz. One solid leg kick from Blachowicz backed off that pressure, and prompted a takedown attempt from Ankalaev. An accidental knee to the cup to Blachowicz caused a break in the action, and when the fight resumed Ankalaev hit a late takedown.
Ankalaev closed the distance right away in the fourth round, shoving Blachowicz against the fence. The moment that Blachowicz finally got free, Ankalaev blasted a double leg to get on top. Blachowicz was struggling to get off the ground, and Ankalaev racked up a ton of control time. This was a dominant round for Ankalaev.
A weird opening exchange to the final frame resulted in Ankalaev running over Blachowicz to get on top. Blachowicz again struggled to get up while Ankalaev maintained complete control. Ankalaev grabbed ahold of a Dagestani handcuff and started to drop unobstructed punches on the former champ. Blachowicz did not return to his feet in what was another dominant round for Ankalaev.
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