We were supposed to be getting the rematch between Jiri Prochazka and Glover Teixeira at UFC 282. However, due to a shoulder injury to the champion Prochazka, the fight was cancelled and the belt was vacated. In the new main event at UFC 282, Jan Blachowicz takes on Magomed Ankalaev for the now-vacant UFC light heavyweight title. They headline a stacked final pay-per-view event of the year at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Let’s take a look at both men in Saturday’s main event.
Jan Blachowicz
Blachowicz made his UFC debut in 2014 and holds a 29-9 record (12-6 inside the UFC) consisting of nine KO/TKOs, nine submissions, and11 wins by decision. He will be looking to regain his UFC light heavyweight title on Saturday night, a belt that he lost towards the end of last year against Glover Teixeira. The Warsaw man defended the belt once against Israel Adesanya, without a doubt his most impressive win to date. However, not everything has been perfect, career-wise, for the 39-year-old, losing four of his first six UFC outings before putting together an impressive win streak and finding himself at the top of the division. Coming into this title fight, he is on a one-fight win streak, a TKO victory over fellow European contender Aleksandar Rakic, although the fight did end due to injury.
‘Polish Power’ has an explosive Muay Thai style with huge knockout power in his hands. One combo he utilises is the straight right to left body kick, he steps through with his right hand into the southpaw stance to throw the kick so he can maximise power – just ask Dominick Reyes and Ilir Latifi. However, he could be hesitant to throw it in this fight due to the threat of a takedown from his opponent. He is also very efficient at checking low kicks which could prove beneficial in this five-round title fight. Regarding his grappling, he boasts a 66% takedown defence (courtesy of UFC stats) and is very handy in the BJJ department. He is a black belt in the discipline, with lots of his early KSW victories coming by way of armbar and rear-naked choke.
Magomed Ankalaev
Ankalaev on the other hand is much more of a rising prospect, with his UFC debut only coming in 2018. He possesses an 18-1 pro career record with the sole loss coming in his debut against our very own Paul Craig – a fight that Ankalaev dominated until the very last second when he succumbed to a hail mary triangle choke. Since then, the 30-year-old has been on a tear, picking up nine consecutive wins and finding himself in a title fight. He has ten KO/TKOs, zero submissions, and eight decision victories. This is only his second main event inside the UFC, with the other coming against the now-PFL fighter, Thiago Santos. Similar to his opponent, the Dagestani fighter is coming off of a TKO win via injury, his one against Anthony Smith.
His fight style is very dangerous, possessing both elite-level wrestling and elite-level striking – a rarity in MMA. He has a wide variety of takedowns in his arsenal, both Greco-Roman and traditional due to his Sambo history. When on top, he has very good top pressure and intense ground and pound although there is very little submission threat. He has zero career submissions, as previously mentioned, and hasn’t even attempted a submission in his UFC career (via UFC stats). On the feet, he has lots of power and uses his boxing prowess to set up the takedowns and vice-versa. One particular strike he enjoys is the front kick – as shown in the Dalcha Lungiambula and Marcin Prachnio fights.
How Do They Match Up?
So, how will it go down at UFC 282? I expect Ankalaev to be the one putting the pressure on throughout the fight, with Blachowicz looking to counter-strike. However, I do think Blachowicz needs to keep the centre of the octagon so that he can avoid being pressured into the fence by Ankalaev. As mentioned, the Russian will be looking to blend striking and wrestling whereas I don’t see a situation where Blachowicz will be looking to go to the mat with his opponent. One potential key to victory for the former champion could be the calf kick, which would slow Ankalaev down and allow Blachowicz to pick his shots.
Prediction: In my opinion, the pressure from Ankalaev will winhim this fight, I think eventually he will overwhelm Blachowicz with his top pressure and get a late TKO. Ankalaev TKO in round 4.
Feature image credits to Embed from Getty Images
