UFC 282: Jan Blachowicz vs. Magomed Ankalaev Preview, Odds, Prediction

Jan Blachowicz and Magomed Ankalaev highlight the UFC 282 tonight, and their meeting will decide the new UFC light heavyweight champion of the division. Blachowicz was already in this position, while on the other side, Ankalaev finally got what he had wanted for so long, a chance to attack the belt and show his worth. These two guys are relentless and probably the best available fighters in the division. Prochazka is out, and Glover apparently wasn’t ready for this battle now.

Preview

Jan Blachowic (+240) comes into this one as the underdog. The Polish Power had one battle following his defeat to Glover, and that was against Aleksandar Rakic, winning it, but only because of the Serb’s injury. There was no TKO, it was ruled that way because Rakic couldn’t stand on his injured knee.

We didn’t see anything from Jan in that battle, and it seems that the loss against Glover left some traces. Also, he is a veteran, close to his fifth decade. But still, his punch is the most devastating in the division, and we don’t have any other guy with such dynamite in his hands. Blachowicz also possesses a solid leg-kick technique, with average grappling that gives him some sort of versatility.

His background is pretty colorful, and over the last dozen fights, the Pole posted 10 wins. Some big names were his victims, like Israel Adesanya, Dominick Reyes, Corey Anderson, Ronaldo Souza, Jimi Manuwa, and Luke Rockhold.

Magomed Ankalaev (-300) has nine wins in a row, beating some big names in the past few events, so he earned his place in this battle fair and square. For a long time, Ankalaev has been one of the most unwanted opponents in the UFC and there weren’t too many fighters who wanted to share the ring with him.

The Russian has solid grappling, but that isn’t his primary weapon, like in most other situations involving his countrymen. Ankalaev is a fantastic stand-up fighter who has an incredible output and power punch, and that’s why he has 10 wins via KO. The other eight are via unanimous decision.

Ankalaev has wins over Anthony Smith, Thiago Santos, Volkan Oezdemir, Nikita Krylov and Ion Cutelaba. He KOd Cutelaba and Smith was overall better than all of his opponents whom he routinely defeated. His pace is relentless, which might be the biggest power of the Russian.

Prediction

The bout between these two guys is bound to have a high pace, because Ankalaev always likes to impose such a style. Blachowicz too, likes to be aggressive in certain moments, though he is much more conservative than before. Overall, the Russian is more versatile, but on the other side, one lucky punch from Blachowicz’s side can floor Ankalaev and leave him there. In general, we are sure that this battle won’t go to the distance. There is too much punching power in fists on both sides to see the decision. The odds on this pick are -185, which isn’t astonishing, but on the other hand, it’s pretty satisfying. There aren’t better picks for this battle when looking at the profit/risk ratio.

Pick: Not going to the distance -185