Magomed Ankalaev vs Jan Blachowicz Prediction: the Title Bout Won't Come to a Decision

On the night of December 11th, the UFC 282 tournament will take place in the United States. 

The Russian fighter made his UFC debut in March 2018 with a heartbreaking loss. Ankalaev calmly dealt with Paul Craig, but at the end of the third round, he fell for the Scotsman's signature triangle choke. In a critical situation, Magomed got confused and tapped in a sign of surrender. And then he looked at the scoreboard with only one second left in the fight. Undoubtedly, the defeat to Craig was an unpleasant accident, and very soon, Magomed showed everyone his actual level.

Since September 2018, Ankalaev has been undefeated. He has won nine fights, defeating former title contenders Thiago Santos and Anthony Smith. Most experts agreed that the Dagestani is mature enough for a title fight, but the promotion constantly postponed the inevitable.

The UFC is fond of scandals and showpeople, but Magomed Ankalayev is not one of those. Although the organization tried to keep the Russian fighter away from the championship belt, there was no escaping his fate.

The current holder of the title, Jiri Prochazka, suffered a severe injury, and Glover Teixeira refused to fight Magomed on short notice. A series of these events forced the UFC to make the fight between Magomed Ankalaev and Jan Blachowicz the title bout.

In his early days in the UFC, the Polish fighter could not boast excellent results. Jan alternated between wins and losses, but he gained experience and became more robust over the years. Blachowicz asserted himself when Jon Jones left the bantamweight championship belt. The Pole got to fight for the title against Dominic Reyes, beating him by TKO in the second round and becoming the new champion.

Next, Ian proved to the world that he was rightfully on top by defeating Israel Adesanya. This is an achievement because, before that, Adesanya had no defeats in his professional career.

But in October 2021, Jan faced Glover Teixeira at UFC 267 and was not himself. The Polish fighter looked toothless. In the second round, he was caught with a choke and capitulated. Sure, Blachowicz promised everyone at once that he would get the title back, but he had to take two steps back for the next one.

In May of this year, Jan faced Aleksandar Rakic, and he didn't look great. The Austrian fighter looked more interesting, but in the third round, he was seriously injured and could not continue the fight. Frankly speaking, Blachowicz was lucky, but he did not know how much. Now, Jan has the opportunity to fight for the title again, and the 39-year-old fighter understands that this could be his last career opportunity.

The Polish fighter is not a kamikaze, and he knows that fighting the young Dagestanian for five rounds is just a terrible idea. That's why we're sure Blachowicz will try to force the events and look for his chance in the standing. Jan will try to drag Ankalaev into the hacking because he has no other options. The Russian fighter had nine knockout victories, but we're all waiting for one more. So the main fight of UFC 282 will not go into the championship rounds.

• We need your feedback! If you enjoy our free betting tips and content, we invite you to write a review on Trustpilot. Find the icon in the footer of the site.