The Ultimate Fighting Championship came to T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada tonight for UFC 282: “Blachowicz vs Ankalaev.” The promotion’s final PPV card of 2022 was headlined by a vacant UFC Light Heavyweight Championship bout between Jan Blachowicz and Magomed Ankalaev.
In the lightweight co-main event, Paddy “The Baddy” Pimblett battled Jared “Flash” Gordon. Elsewhere on the main card, Santiago “Argentine Dagger” Ponzinibbio took on Alex “The Great White” Morono in a 180-pound catchweight bout. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for UFC 282.
UFC Light Heavyweight Championship
Jan Blachowicz vs Magomed Ankalaev
Round 1:
Blachowicz landed two leg kicks and Ankalaev countered with a body kick and a right hand. Blachowicz lunged forward with a lead left hook and Ankalaev took a step back. Another leg kick and a right hand scored for Blachowicz. Ankalaev landed a right-left combo in response, but a left hook from Blachowicz caused Ankalaev’s right eye to swell up. Ankalaev landed a left hook and a front kick to the body. Close opening round. 10-9 Ankalaev.
Round 2:
Ankalaev attacked Blachowicz’s body with more kicks in the second round. Blachowicz landed a left hook, but Ankalaev threw two more front kicks to his ribs. Blachowicz landed a leg kick and Ankalaev began to favour his lead leg. He scored with a lead right hook and a left cross, but Blachowicz hurt him with another leg kick. He buckled Ankalaev’s leg with a third leg kick, but Ankalaev latched on to Blachowicz’s leg and tied him up in a clinch. Blachowicz pushed him away and Ankalaev switched stances. Blachowicz landed two leg kicks and a one-two late in the round, which ended in a clinch. 10-9 Blachowicz.
Round 3:
Blachowicz immediately hurt Ankalaev with a leg kick in round three. He then attacked his other leg with a sweeping kick as well. Ankalaev landed an overhand right and two jabs. Blachowicz attempted a head kick and landed a lead left hook. Ankalaev landed a combination and Blachowicz hurt his left leg with two kicks. Now limping on both legs, Ankalaev clinched with Blachowicz against the cage. Blachowicz circled away and the fighters exchanged uppercuts. He cut Ankalaev with a jab and time was called when Blachowicz was kneed in the groin. Action resumed and Ankalaev clinched late in the round. He took Blachowicz down just before the bell. Close round. 10-9 Blachowicz due to damage.
Round 4:
Ankalaev initiated a clinch right away in the fourth round. Blachowicz eventually broke free, but Ankalaev charged forward and took him down. When Blachowicz tried to stand against the cage, Ankalaev took partial back control. He pulled Blachowicz back down and worked from the top in this guard. Ankalaev landed short punches from the top before the bell. 10-9 Ankalaev.
Round 5:
Ankalaev charged at Blachowicz, who lost his balance and fell. Ankalaev took top position in his guard and landed short punches. Blachowicz got to his side against the cage and Ankalaev landed more left hands and elbows while trapping Blachowicz’s right arm. Blachowicz rolled to his back and Ankalaev briefly looked for an arm-triangle choke. He let that go and went back to landing elbows. That continued all the way until the final bell. 10-9 Ankalaev, if not a 10-8.
Result: Split Draw (48-47 [Blachowicz], 48-46 [Ankalaev], 47-47) after five rounds. Blachowicz moves to 29-9-1, while Ankalaev is now 17-1-1. The title remains vacant.
Paddy “The Baddy” Pimblett vs Jared “Flash” Gordon
Round 1:
Gordon landed a nice left hand early in the fight and he stunned Pimblett with another left hook soon after. Gordon landed two two leg kicks and Pimblett answered with one of his own. A hard overhand right scored for Gordon, but Pimblett fired back with a flurry of hooks and uppercuts. Gordon landed a winging right hook and he blocked two head kicks from Pimblett. Gordon landed a body kick and a lead left hook. Pimblett charged at him with punches and finished with a calf kick, but Gordon landed another left hook. Big power punches were exchanged and Gordon landed two left hooks. Pimblett attempted a takedown, but Gordon reversed it and wound up on top in Pimblett’s guard. 10-9 Gordon.
Round 2:
Pimblett landed an uppercut and he continued to target Gordon’s lead leg with calf kicks in the second round. Gordon punched his way into a clinch and Pimblett landed a right hook to the body. Gordon took him down and Pimblett attempted a rear-naked choke, but Gordon turned into it and the fighters returned to their feet. Gordon landed a right hook on the break and Pimblett answered with one of his own. Gordon landed a lead left hook and countered a leg kick with a right cross. Pimblett broke free from a clinch with a one-two and time was called when he poked Gordon in the eye. The fight resumed and Pimblett landed a left-right combo. Very close round. 10-9 Gordon despite Pimblett’s late rally.
Round 3:
Gordon slammed Pimblett down face-first to the mat early in round three. Pimblett got back to his feet and Gordon held him against the cage. Pimblett threw a high knee and elbowed the side of Gordon’s head. He circled away to his right and Gordon tied him up in another clinch. Gordon kneed Pimblett’s thighs and finally got him down with a body-lock takedown. Gordon took Pimblett’s back and Pimblett shook him off. He then took Gordon’s back and that’s how the round ended. Close final round. 10-9 Pimblett by a slim margin due to damage. The decision could go either way.
Winner: Paddy Pimblett by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 20-3-0.
Santiago “Argentine Dagger” Ponzinibbio vs Alex “The Great White” Morono
Round 1:
Morono landed an early right cross and Ponzinibbio responded with a calf kick. He landed a left-right combo to Morono’s body and head, then another calf kick, but Morono cracked him with an overhand right. Another right hand and a body kick scored for Morono, but Ponzinibbio still had success with his calf kick. Morono landed an overhand right and the crowd began to boo the limited action. Ponzinibbio missed with a spinning backfist and Morono floored him with an uppercut. He landed more right hands on the ground before Ponzinibbio stood just before the bell. 10-9 Morono.
Round 2:
Ponzinibbio hindered Morono’s movement with more calf kicks in the second round, but Morono still dropped him with a counter right hook. Ponzinibbio got back to his feet and he landed a jab and a calf kick. He scored with an overhand right and a three-punch combo as Morono struggled to land anything in response. Ponzinibbio landed one more overhand right late in the round. Close round. 10-9 Ponzinibbio despite the knockdown.
Round 3:
Ponzinibbio landed an overhand right in the opening minute of round three. He stepped forward with a lead left hook, but Morono hurt Ponzinibbio with two right hands. Ponzinibbio circled away and recovered. He landed a jab and a right hook, then hurt Morono badly with an overhand right. Ponzinibbio dropped Morono with a second right hand and followed with two punches on the ground before the fight was stopped.
Winner: Santiago Ponzinibbio by TKO (Punches) at 2:29 of round three. He improves to 29-6-0.
Dricus “Stillknocks” Du Plessis vs Darren “The Gorilla” Till
Round 1:
Till struck first with a left cross and Du Plessis took him down. As Till tried to get to his feet against the cage, Du Plessis landed numerous left hands to the side of his face. He kept Till down on one knee and landed more left hands. When Till finally stood up, Du Plessis blasted him with hard left hooks and uppercuts. He switched to right hands and then dumped Till to the mat again. Du Plessis took Till’s back and secured a body triangle. He attempted rear-naked chokes and Till defended. Du Plessis tried to pass to mount and he lost the position. Till attempted a guillotine choke in a scramble and the fighters rose to their feet. Till took Du Plessis down and landed three elbows and two right hands. Du Plessis scrambled up and took Till down at the bell. 10-9 Du Plessis, if not a 10-8.
Round 2:
Du Plessis was poked in the eye early in the second round, but the fight continued on and Till landed an elbow and a one-two. Du Plessis appeared to be fatigued, but he managed to take Till down and held him in a front headlock. Till got to his feet and he landed two left crosses. A jab-cross combo and an elbow scored for Till, but Du Plessis dragged him down again. Du Plessis attempted a top-side guillotine choke and then transitioned to an inverted ankle lock late in the round. Close round due to Du Plessis’s late rally. 10-9 Till.
Round 3:
Till landed a straight left hand and an uppercut in round three. Du Plessis answered with an overhand left and a hard jab. Till jabbed and Du Plessis landed another overhand left. He took Till down into mount and landed four punches. Till gave up his back and Du Plessis locked on a rear-naked choke for a quick tapout.
Winner: Dricus Du Plessis by Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) at 2:43 of round three. He improves to 18-2-0.
Ilia “El Matador” Topuria vs Bryce “Thug Nasty” Mitchell
Round 1:
Topuria landed a strong calf kick early in the fight and he snapped Mitchell’s head back with a straight right hand. Two more right hands landed for Topuria and he blocked a head kick. Mitchell landed a left hook and a front kick, then dropped levels for a takedown. He was only able to get Topuria down for a second and Topuria escaped from the clinch after returning to his feet. He landed two right hooks and missed with a looping left. Mitchell got Topuria down, but he was unable to do much from the top before the bell. 10-9 Topuria.
Round 2:
The second round began with Topuria landing a quick one-two and he stuffed a takedown. Mitchell began to bleed heavily from his nose, but he landed two straight lefts and Topuria missed with a right hook. Mitchell landed a left hook and a head kick, but Topuria dropped him with a right hook. Topuria moved from side control to back control and landed right hands as Mitchell got to his feet. Mitchell attempted a takedown and Topuria slammed him down to the mat. Topuria landed right hands on the ground and locked on an arm-triangle choke, forcing Mitchell to tap out within seconds.
Winner: Ilia Topuria by Submission (Arm-Triangle Choke) at 3:10 of round two. He improves to 13-0-0.
(Undercard results and play-by-play on Page Two.)