In the main event of UFC 282, the former UFC light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz took on Magomed Ankalaev for the vacant UFC light heavyweight title.
Previously, Jiri Prochazka and Glover Teixeira were scheduled to headline UFC 282 for a second run-in. However, the main event was reshuffled after the recently crowned champion Prochazka vacated the belt following a brutal shoulder injury.
From the start of the fight, Blachowicz started chopping Ankalaev’s legs down with hard leg kicks. Ankalaev responded to Blachowicz’s shots with his fast counters. In the 3rd round, Ankalaev’s legs gave up and he started attacking the Polish with his Dagestani grappling.
Ankalaev’s coach advised him to use his grappling saying: “Squeeze the life out of him, he is 0 in Grappling!” and he followed his coach’s instructions. The Russian came stronger with his offensive grappling and dominated Blachowicz in the 4th and 5th rounds on the ground.
Gotta feel bad for Ankalaev. His title stripped from the judges. Sucks. #UFC282 pic.twitter.com/4amnBoiFuZ
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) December 11, 2022
It seemed like Ankalaev was going to beat Blachowicz with a split decision but after the fight, it was announced that the fight was a split draw (48-47, 46-48, 47-47). Despite the best efforts of the two contenders, the light heavyweight title will remain vacant.
Who really won between Jan Blachowicz and Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 282?
The main event of UFC 282 had no winner and the fight was announced as a draw. This was a surprise to everyone as it was evident that Ankalaev won the title fight and even Jan Blachowicz stated that he lost.
Looking at the stats, Blachowicz landed 55 of 117 significant strikes while Ankalaev landed 78 of 184 shots. In addition to that, Ankalaev scored 2 out of 10 takedowns and landed 22 of 42 ground strikes while dominating in the last two rounds.
A total of 79 of 141 strikes were landed by Blachowicz while 191 of 312 were landed by Ankalaev. However, the judges ruled it a split draw while Ankalaev should’ve been the winner.
#UFC282 Official Scorecard: Jan Blachowicz vs Magomed Ankalaev 👇
All Tonight’s Scorecards ➡️: https://t.co/ZOw63NkfWN pic.twitter.com/WdwNTUJa2o
— UFC News (@UFCNews) December 11, 2022
Ankalaev put up a great performance and even when his legs gave up, he started dominating Blachowicz with his grappling. However, his hard-fought fight went in vain and he stormed off the octagon after saying “I don’t know what you want me to say.”
“Give the belt to [Magomed]
Ankalaev.”Jan Blachowicz said Ankalaev should have the light heavyweight belt after their split draw at #UFC282 pic.twitter.com/MRZJPxNERv
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) December 11, 2022
Even Blachowicz said that Akalev won that bout. In the post-fight interview, Blachowicz showed a nice gesture and hugged it out with the Russian while telling Joe Rogan to give Ankalaev the belt. While it was a bad decision from the judges, Ankalaev definitely felt that he was robbed.
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