Jan Blachowicz will take on Magomed Ankalaev for the vacant, undisputed UFC light heavyweight title at UFC 282 on Decemeber 10 inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Both the fighters were initially set for the co-main event of the evening.
In a shocking turn of events, Jiri Prochazka vacated his light-heavyweight gold less than two weeks away from his rematch against Glover Teixeira for the 205 lbs title. Prochazka suffered a brutal shoulder injury less than a week ago while training in Las Vegas. The extent of the injury means Prochazka will be away from the Octagon for almost a year.
UFC President shared his thoughts on Prochazka’s decision to vacate the UFC gold and revealed that “this is the worst shoulder injury the doctors have seen in UFC history.”
It’s important to note, Glover Teixeira won’t be competing on the card. It won’t be wrong to say that at 43 years of age, waiting around for the title shot is the last thing that the Brazilian fighter would have hoped for.
UFC 282 updated fight card
Jan Blachowicz, fresh off a win over Aleksandr Rakic will take on Magomedov Ankalaev, who is on a nine-fight winning streak.
Our NEW light heavyweight title fight headlining #UFC282 🏆
Jiri Prochazka has suffered a significant shoulder injury. Out of respect to the athletes and the division he will vacate his title.@JanBlachowicz vs @AnkalaevM is your new main event for the undisputed UFC LHW belt! pic.twitter.com/CScRxmjWwS
— UFC (@ufc) November 23, 2022
Ankalaev’s last fight came in the form of a second-round stoppage win over Anthony Smith. He will look to become the third fighter from Dagestan to hold the gold after Khabib Nurmagomedov and Islam Makhachev. Meanwhile, Blachowicz will look to join the likes of Jon Jones by becoming a two-time UFC Light-Heavyweight Champion.
Paddy Pimblett vs Jared Gordon will serve as the co-main event of the evening. According to Ariel Helwani, Teixeira wanted to compete at UFC 282 and offered to fight against Jan Blachowicz on short notice. However, the offer was rejected by the UFC.
Just spoke to Glover and Jiri’s team. Here’s the full story on UFC 282, live from my car. pic.twitter.com/okx1yH2B0r
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) November 23, 2022
The promotion offered him a fight against Magomed Ankalaev for the title, however, the Brazilian fighter addressed he would need more time to prepare for the Dagestani fighter. Teixeira offered to fight Ankalaev in Brazil at UFC 283 for the title, however, even that was declined by the UFC.
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