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The Ultimate Fighting Championship capped off its 2022 pay-per-view calendar with UFC 282 on Saturday night at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The event was headlined by a clash between former titleholder Jan Blachowicz and Magomed Ankalaev for the vacant light heavyweight championship.
Things got off to a hot start on the night with 10 consecutive finishes leading up to the main card, including a spectacular performance by 18-year-old Mexican phenom Raul Rosas Jr. which ended in a first-round submission.
Unfortunately, once we reached the main event where things took a turn for the worse.
In the co-main event, rising star Paddy Pimblett scored a unanimous decision over Jared Gordon. However, a majority of media members and fans had scored the bout in favor of Gordon and there were plenty of questions about the decision. Then, we turned to the main event where the unthinkable happened.
After three close rounds between Blachowicz and Ankalaev, Ankalaev turned it on and utilized his ground game to put on a dominant ten-minute performance — which many believed could have been two 10-8 rounds. But it wasn’t enough for the judges, because the bout ended in a split draw which leaves the light heavyweight belt unclaimed and had boos echoing throughout the arena. During their interviews with Joe Rogan, Blachowicz said to give the belt to Ankalaev who he believed was the rightful winner.
"Give the belt to [Magomed]
Ankalaev."Jan Blachowicz said Ankalaev should have the light heavyweight belt after their split draw at #UFC282 pic.twitter.com/MRZJPxNERv
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) December 11, 2022
But you know what they say, never leave things in the hands of the judges.
If you missed out on Saturday night’s action, we have you covered.
A full look at the UFC 282 results can be seen below.
UFC 282 Results
- Jan Blachowicz vs. Magomed Ankalaev ends in a split draw (48-47, 46-49, 47-47)
- Paddy Pimblett def. Jared Gordon via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Santiago Ponzinibbio def. Alex Morono via TKO (punches) – Round 3, 2:29
- Dricus Du Plessis def. Darren Till via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 3, 2:43
- Ilia Topuria def. Bryce Mitchell via submission (arm-triangle choke) – Round 2, 3:10
- Raul Rosas Jr. def. Jay Perrin via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 2:44
- Jairzinho Rozenstruik def. Chris Daukaus via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 0:23
- Edmen Shahbazyan def. Dalcha Lungiambula via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 4:41
- Chris Curtis def. Joaquin Buckley via knockout (punches) – Round 2, 2:49
- Billy Quarantillo def. Alexander Hernandez via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 4:30
- T.J. Brown def. Erik Silva via submission (arm-triangle choke) – Round 3, 3:41
- Cameron Saaiman def. Steven Koslow via TKO (punches, knees) – Round 3, 4:13