Sanabul Fight News: UFC 282
Although it wasn't the Glover and Jiri rematch we all wanted, nor was the outcome anything we were expecting, UFC 282 delivered with 10 out of the 12 fights being finished, and some stars finally getting their chance to shine on Saturday night.
TJ Brown and Billy Quarantillo led the action with two finishes of their own on the early prelims. TJ ended up defeating his opponent Erik Silva in the third round with an arm triangle choke after a grueling battle on the canvas, with the veteran TJ Brown coming out on top. Billy Quarantillo showed off his “dog” mentality once again with a war against the beast Alexander Hernandez, who may be one of the most athletic men in that division, but Billy showed that he will not gas and put it on Alex late in the second round, finishing him by TKO.
Chris Curtis and Edmen Shahbazyan each earned finishes to start off the prelims as well, continuing the finishing streak to start off a great night of fights. Chris Curtis was matched up against Joaquin Buckley in what most expected to be a fan favorite, the two men had a very tough battle and both had their moments, but unfortunately for Buckley, Chris landed a perfect left hand to put Buckley down and finish him with ground strikes on the canvas. Edmen had a war of his own with the beast known as Dalca Lungiambula, and he overcame this challenge with some extremely precise striking. Edmen landed a knee in the second round, saw that Dalca was hurt and pounced on his opportunity to finish the veteran for his 5th win in the UFC at only 25 years old.
Jairzinho Rozenstruik seemed to follow in the footsteps of fellow heavyweights Sergei Pavlovich and Francis Ngannou with a new strategy: charge at them with 20 bombs and one will land. Chris Daukaus had no answer for the onslaught that was Rozenstruiks fists coming at him and was finished very quickly in the first round. Rozenstruik moves to 13-4 with Daukaus moving down to 12-6 as a professional.
Raul Rosas Jr. was one of the biggest names and stories of the card on Saturday night, as the youngest fighter to ever win a fight in the UFC. Raul is 18 and trains out of Las Vegas at 10th Planet Jiu Jitsu, and has been a massive prospect that caught the eye of the UFC on DWCS with a dominant decision victory, and was matched up as the feature prelim against veteran Jay Perrin, sinking in a choke in the first round and moving to 7-0 as a professional, keep your eyes out for this young man as he looks to become the youngest champion in UFC history.
The main card opened up with Ilia Topuria and Dricus Du Plessis taking victories against some high level opponents to both place themselves at the top of their respective divisions as some eye-opening contenders. Bryce Mitchell had looked dominant and unbeatable until Saturday night, especially in the grappling department, but had no answers for Ilia Topuria’s incredible all-around MMA game and shutdown defense. Ilia is a force to be reckoned with in the division and beat Byrce, who is one of the best grapplers in the UFC, at his own game with a submission in the second round.
Dricus Du Plessis started to gas out in the second round against Darren Till, but somehow was able to keep up the offense against the seasoned striker. Everyone was excited to see the exciting Darren Till back in action, but unfortunately Dricus had different plans for the MMA fan base, and stole the show with a rear-naked choke that was tapped to quickly by Till, giving Dricus his 4th straight win in the UFC, and moving him likely to the Top 5 of the division.
Santiago Ponzinibbio was matched up against the extremely tough Alex Morono in a short notice fight for Morono, and it was a tough fight for both men throughout the first two rounds of the matchup. Santiago was losing on the judges' scorecards, but ended up knocking Morono out with a right hand that put Morono down, and gave Santiago his 30th professional win and first finish in four years. The fans were waiting all night for the superstar Paddy “The Baddy” Pimblett to come out and show everyone that he’s the real deal against veteran Jared “Flash” Gordon on Saturday night. Jared silenced the fanbase of Paddy for two rounds, almost clearly putting up a nearly dominant performance on the feet, and shutting down any offense of Paddy’s with some heavy grappling in the third round. The judges saw the fight differently, giving Paddy a 29-28 Unanimous decision victory in a contest that clearly did not go in the favor of the superstar.
The main event was not what fans were looking forward to for the past few months, with everyone prepared to see Jiri Prochazka and Glover Teixeira go at it once again in a rematch, unfortunately Jiri had to pull out of the contest due to a serious injury, and Magomed Ankalaev was matched up against Jan Blachowicz for the Light Heavyweight title.
The matchup seemed to go in the way of Ankalaev, with the Dagestanian out striking Blachowicz by nearly 200 total strikes and 100 significant strikes, and shutting down any of Jan’s offense with his grappling in the last two rounds, most fans saw the fight going the way of Ankalaev. The judges scored the contest as a majority draw, with Dana White and the UFC scrambling to book Glover Teixeira and Jamahal Hill for the vacant title on the first PPV card of 2023.
