Paddy 'The Baddy' Pimblett faces his biggest challenge yet in the co-main event, while Jan Blachowicz locks horns with Magomed Ankalaev in the main event of the evening
Wednesday 7 December 2022 19:11, UK
This weekend's UFC 282 card has all the ingredients for theatrics, suspense, and perhaps a few surprises.
The drama started earlier this week when veteran Robbie Lawler, set to lock horns on the main card with Santiago Ponzinibbio, injured himself, setting off a chain of internal reshuffling. Jiri Prochazka then followed suit, meaning that Paddy "The Baddy" Pimblett's fight against Jared Gordon, set to be the preliminary to the co-main, has been promoted to co-main.
Now, if you've managed to make it through all of that unscathed and are still looking forward to this weekend's action, then we've got the perfect fight-night preview for you. Scroll on down…
This Saturday night, it's the former light heavyweight champion against one of the league's toughest fighters: Jan Blachowiz vs Magomed Ankalaev.
A complex clash in many ways, given the nature of the two fighters involved. On the one hand, Blachowicz has some notable victories to his name. He has beaten Israel Adesanya, and Dominick Reyes, showcasing the full variety of his attacking depth.
Ankalaev, however, is also no slouch in that department. His dominant grappling-heavy performances up the rankings proved as much.
Where this fight may be won and lost is in the histories. Ever since Jon Jones vacated the light heavyweight title in 2020, it's changed hands almost every fight, from Blachowicz to Glover Teixeira, and then finally Jiri Prochazka. This fight will provide an answer on whether Blachowicz is still in the title picture, or if 18-1 mega-prospect Ankalaev is en route to becoming the next dominant champ.
Our predictions point to Ankalaev grinding out a slower-paced fight, with his groundwork a prominent point of success.
"The Baddy" has been a fan favourite ever since he left Cage Warriors as champion last year to join the UFC.
Having picked up three stoppage wins and three performances of the night bonuses since his arrival on the scene, most of his opponents have been easy to tame.
Luigi Vendramini was certainly the kind, after Pimblett knocked him out before moving onto back-to-back submission wins over Rodrigo Vargas and Jordan Leavitt at massive events in London.
It's worth noting that both Vendramini and Vargas were cut from the UFC following their losses. This weekend's fight poses to be his first serious step up in opposition in the form of 24-fight veteran Jared Gordon.
Gordon, one of the more experienced fighters in the lightweight standings, has seven wins to his name, including a dominant decision win over Pimblett's former team-mate Chris Fishgold.
His well-rounded skills and stamina throughout make him stern opposition, even if Pimblett will be presenting with better jiu-jitsu abilities.
The one area that he might thrive in is the fact that Gordon got stopped in all five of his losses. The Baddy will have to hope that he can follow in the footsteps of former UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira, who knocked out Gordon in 2019.
It's always difficult when you've accepted a fight at short notice, but even more so for Alex Morono, who did it with only six days left to train and prepare.
Perhaps he fancies himself against Santiago Ponzinibbio, who is looking to get back in winning form after two tough split-decision losses to Geoff Neal and Michel Pereira. Perhaps, despite not having fought since July at UFC 277, he expects himself to overpower his opponent's quick hands.
Well, let's look at that last fight, last summer Morono defeated Matthew Semelsberger in a unanimous decision. The victory, which at the time improved his winning streak to four consecutive fights, was a perfect reminder of his tricky nature.
With a taekwondo belt, you would expect plenty of flashy kicks and high-risk moves. But more noticeable was his adaptivity and ability to cover ground quickly, in and out of the pocket.
With less time to prepare, it's not a fully fit Morono we'll see. However, expect him to be up on the cards early on Saturday night, with Ponzinibbio having to weather the storm with cardio advantage.
