The light heavyweight division has a new enforcer. Jan Blachowicz and Alex Pereira fought it out at UFC 291 on July 29 at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City. The 205-pound division has gone through an upheaval in recent times, and the most recent blow came when Jamahal Hill relinquished the UFC gold. Thus, the co-main event at UFC 291 carried title implications, but it is Pereira who now has one hand on the title.
Blachowicz came into the fight after fighting out a draw against Magomed Ankalaev with the title on the line. He wanted to amend his last fight’s error and secure a clean victory. On the other hand, Pereira suffered a similar but worse fate as he lost the middleweight title against Israel Adesanya. With his struggles with weight-cutting, he decided to move up after the loss. Both fighters, known for their brutal strength, unleashed violence as soon as they stepped into the Octagon.
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Notably, ‘Poatan’ won the fight via a split decision and made a successful debut at light heavyweight.
What happened in the fight at UFC 291?
The title eliminator started with Blachowicz immediately gunning for a takedown. However, Pereira caught Blachowicz in a guillotine choke and resisted the takedown. The takedown defense of the Brazilian fighter was being tested, but he couldn’t resist any longer. Blachowicz caught Pereira on the mat, and soon the fight transitioned to a dangerous position for Pereira. The grappling round drained Blachowicz as he spent the complete round on the ground.
On the other hand, Pereira came into the second round fresher. He tried to work his hips and was, therefore, able to counter Blachowicz’s grappling. After breaking out of the shackles, Pereira looked more confident.
Therefore, he cornered an exhausted Blachowicz, pushed him to the cage, and landed some heavy blows in the dying seconds of round 2. In the final round, both fighters exchanged blows in the middle of the cage. Blachowicz tried to slow Pereira down as he faked shots. While the final round remained a striking round, Blachowicz again completed a takedown in the dying seconds.
However, it was the damage of Pereira’s punches that separated the two and edged him closer to another UFC title.
How did the fans react to Pereira’s win?
The decision caused another rift among the fans as they hotly debated the decision.
BY SPLT DECISION!!@AlexPereiraUFC takes a CLOSE one over Blachowicz at #UFC291! pic.twitter.com/cWEOMioYTu
— UFC (@ufc) July 30, 2023
Robbery, so control time doesn't count now? But for Makhachev vs Volk does? Disgusting
— Jan Bahnsen Caso (@GADSIT0) July 30, 2023
Absolutely robbery. 6 minutes control time
— Corey / Captain Pudding (@TheCptPudding) July 30, 2023
Remember when takedowns used to mean something in the sport…. Good times
— Mike (@ThatsMikeZ) July 30, 2023
What a garbage fight. So underwhelming
— lee (@leemiller67) July 30, 2023
It's crazy how the narrat8ve changes for who they want. Jan was on top at the end. Over 5 minutes of control time. This is a rigged fight
— K1ng_cut (@finishedyet34) July 30, 2023
Jan was robbed.. whole first round he was on his back and attempting submissions. 1-0 Yan. And no sane Judge could of given Alex both the second and third round.. absolutely nuts.
— P2EHunter2022 (@Zac20032011) July 30, 2023
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Alex Pereira wins by split decision.
He showed us a lot of wrinkles to his game that we hadn't previously seen.
— Aaron Bronsteter (@aaronbronsteter) July 30, 2023
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What do you make of this exciting fight at UFC 291? Let us know in the comments below.
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