UFC 282 caps successful 2022 pay-per-view schedule

Saturday night’s UFC 282 card was an excellent way to cap off the UFC’s 2022 pay-per-view schedule.

The company recorded its 29th consecutive sellout and raked in $4.4 million in gate money. Ten out of 12 total fights ended by finish. UFC president Dana White was in a giving mood post fight as all 10 finishers received performance bonuses.

The light heavyweight title remained vacant after Saturday night. In the main event, Jan Blachowicz and Magomed Ankalaev fought to a highly contested split draw. In the first round, Ankalaev maintained distance with the use of front kicks. In the second and third rounds, Blachowicz began to turn the tide. Blachowicz launched debilitating leg kicks to the lower leg of Ankalaev. In those exchanges, Blachowicz showcased shins of steel, leaving Ankalaev’s legs heavily compromised. With the leg kicks, Blachowicz nullified the speed advantage of Ankalaev. In the fourth and fifth rounds, Ankalaev came out with a sense of urgency landing a takedown in each round.

Ankalaev accrued the majority of his 11 minutes and 20 seconds of control time in the later rounds, seemingly sealing the victory for Ankalaev. In his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan, Ankalaev said “why didn’t I get my belt? I don’t understand this, I don’t know what to say.”

Rogan then made it clear that the judges are chosen by the individual athletic commissions in each state, not the UFC. Saturday’s main event marked just the fifth time in UFC history that a championship fight has been declared a draw. On the judging of the main event, UFC President Dana White said “what can you do? We’ve dealt with this before, don’t leave it in the hands of the judges.” White then called the main event “terrible” when announcing the UFC had new plans for the light heavyweight title.

The light heavyweight crown will once again be on the line at UFC 283 in Rio de Janeiro Brazil on January 21, 2023 as former light heavyweight champion Glover Teixeira will face Jamahal “sweet dreams” Hill. Hill was originally scheduled to be former light heavyweight title challenger Anthony Smith on March 11. When Smith heard of the UFC’s quick pivot live on the air during the UFC 282 post show Smith said “that’s a big problem for me.”

In the co-main event clash between Jared “Flash” Gordon and Paddy Pimblett. The “paddy party kept on rolling, as Pimblett edged Gordon in a hard-fought decision to move to 4-0 in the UFC. The first round was fairly even where both men landed their fair share of strikes. In the second round, Gordon seemingly took control of the fight with two takedowns. In the third round, neither man threw much output as Gordon controlled Pimblett up against the fence. In hindsight Gordon needed to be more active in third round, as you never know what the judges are thinking. The decision to award Pimblett the victory drew the ire of many fans, fighters, and media across the world. ESPN’s Brett Okamoto said of the fight, “this sport, without question, throws around the word robbery way too much. But sometimes it actually does apply.” For all the people claiming robbery Pimblett said “I don’t care what anyone says lad, when you look back in the history books, there will be a green marker next to my name with a W.”

Also, on the main card, Santiago Ponzinibbio “the Argentine dagger” earned his 30th career MMA victory in come from behind fashion versus short notice opponent Alex Morono. After Morono dominated the first two rounds, Ponzinibbio implored the veteran that he needed a knockout to secure a victory. Ponzinibbio was knocked down early in the round, but persevered, just like he’s done his whole career to earn a victory by knockout. UFC president Dana White commended both men on their effort, specifically Ponzinibbio for being able to adjust to his new opponent on five days’ notice.

In the fight of the night, Dricus du Plessis likely maneuvered his way into the top 10 with a win over Darren Till. In the first round, du Plessis unloaded over 60 significant strikes on Till.

In the second round, Till found his rhythm in his boxing taking advantage of a noticeably tired du Plessis. In the third round, du Plessis immediately landed one of his six takedowns. Then, du Plessis quickly jumped on Till’s back to secure his sixth consecutive win overall and fourth in the UFC. While du Plessis is surging up the rankings, Till’s career is at a crossroads. The “Gorilla” has now lost his last three fights and is staring at a long layoff due to an apparent torn ACL.

In the main card opener, Ilia Topuria put the featherweight division on notice with a dominant win over fellow undefeated featherweight Bryce “thug nasty” Mitchell. Topuria showed his superior striking in the first-round scoring a knock down of Mitchell. In the second round, Topuria continued to pummel Mitchell in the standup before showing a surprising strength advantage to get the fight to the floor. Once the fight transitioned to the ground, Topuria moved to 13-0 within arm triangle choke submission. In his post-fight interview, Topuria expressed his belief that he has earned a title shot. Topouria, out of the country of Georgia may not have earned a title shot, but the 25-year-old certainly opened some eyes with his win on Saturday night.

In the featured prelim, Dana White’s Contender Series alum 18-year-old Raul Rosas Junior put on a show. Rosas Junior’s impressive grappling was on display, as Rosas latched on to the back of Jay Perrin quickly with a first-round rear-naked choke in his debut. The sky is truly the limit for Rosas. In his post-fight interview, the 18-year-old shared that he is going to use his $50,000 performance of the night bonus to buy his mom a minivan.

At heavyweight, Jairzinho Rozenstruik snapped his 2-fight skid in a big way. Rozenstruik obliterated Chris Daukaus in just 23 seconds. Rozenstruik hit Daukaus with a superman punch, a flying knee and devastating ground and pound. The win over Daukaus is Rozenstruik’s third knockout in less than 30 seconds during his time in the UFC.

At middleweight, after a calculated approach in the first round Edmen Shahbazyan blitzed his opponent Dalcha Lungiambula with a knee up the middle to start the second round. Shahbazyan then unloaded flurry of punches and elbows from top position to secure his first win since 2019. This win may be a turning point in the golden boy’s career. At just 25 Shahbazyan still has loads of potential.

In the opener of the main prelims, the action man Chris Curtis provided an action-packed fight with Joaquin Buckley. Curtis got back into the win column Saturday night with an exciting second round knockout of Buckley. With the win, the 35-year-old Curtis earned his 30th career victory overall. The win could push Curtis into the top 12 at middleweight. In the featured early prelim at featherweight Billy Quarantillo wore down Alexander Hernandez with his unrelenting pressure. After falling behind 2-0 on the scorecards, Quarantillo came out for the third and final round with blood trickling down his face. Quarantillo scored a come from behind victory over Hernandez by knockout.

To the opening fight of the night, 21-year-old Dana White’s Contender Series alum Cameron Saaiman shined in his UFC debut, the native of South Africa outlasted Steven Koslow in a back-and-forth war. Saaiman secured the victory with a knockout of Koslow in the late stages of the fight. Despite only having 12 fights, Saturday’s UFC 282 certainly provided plenty of action. The UFC closes its 2022 schedule next Saturday, December 17 in the Apex with a UFC Vegas 66 card headlined by a clash between top middleweights Jared Cannonier and Sean Strickland.