Jan Blachowicz and Magomed Ankalaev will fight for the Vacant UFC Light Heavyweight Championship in the main event of UFC 282. The UFC’s final PPV for 2022 was set to be headlined by a title fight rematch between Jiri Prochazka and Glover Teixeira until Prochazka suffered a serious shoulder injury forcing his vacation of the title.

In its place, the co-main event fight between Europeans Blachowicz and Ankalaev was elevated to the main event and title fight. Read more about the whole situation here.

In the co-main event, Paddy Pimblett meets Jared Gordon in a Lightweight fight between rising stars. Pimblett has already claimed the fight as the “people’s main event”.

Find the full UFC 282 fight card, date and start times here.

Main Event Preview

In the main event, the former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, Jan Blachowicz, meets rising Russian contender Magomed Ankalaev for the UFC’s Light Heavyweight title.

Blachowicz became the UFC Light Heavyweight Champion at 37 years old on the back of his “Polish Power”, scoring highlight reels knockouts of Luke Rockhold and Corey Anderson, culminating in a Title-winning knockout of Dominick Reyes. Blachowicz then defended his title by defeating undefeated UFC Middleweight Champion and pound-for-pound great Israel Adesanya via unanimous decision.

Blachowicz lost his title in a lackluster performance against Glover Teixeira at UFC 267 via rear-naked choke but bounced back with a win against top contender Aleksandar Rakic in May. Although the fight ended due to Rakic suffering a knee injury, Blachowicz looked to be back in his title-winning form.

Ankalaev enters his first UFC Title fight riding a 9-fight win streak with notable victories over Ion Cutelaba, Volkan Oezdemir and Thiaga Santos. In his last time out, Ankalaev scored a TKO finished over Anthony Smith – who like Rakic, also suffered a leg injury during the fight. Ankalaev’s lone career loss came in his UFC debut against Paul Craig, a fight he was dominating until Craig recorded the latest ever UFC victory with a triangle choke at 4:59 of the final round.

Main Event Analysis

Blachowicz and Ankalaev scored impressive knockouts in the UFC but are also very calculated strikers. Blachowicz yields his famed Polish Power, meaning he can end a fight at any time. In contrast, Ankalaev fights with accuracy and volume. Some may call his style “safe”, but it has looked near-perfect so far in the UFC.

It would seem that neither man is likely to wrestle. Both have shown an ability to secure takedowns while also defending takedowns at a high rate. Blachowicz defeated Israel Adesanya, a long and calculated striker, by mixing in strong leg kicks with takedowns in the later rounds. However, he did lose via submission to Glover Teixeira. Ankalaev may see a path to victory on the ground.

For Blachowicz, the task seems much tougher with Ankalaev showing little weakness so far in the UFC Octagon. Blachowicz will likely have to knockout Ankalaev if he hopes to regain the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship.

Main Event Prediction

Prediction: Ankalaev via Unanimous Decision

Find the full UFC 282 fight card and start times here.