UFC 282 Fight Card, Blachowicz vs Ankalaev

The UFC 282 Fight Card has been changed. It’s still going to be for the heavyweight title but the current, newly crowned champion Jiri Prochazka is out. The event will go live Saturday, December 10, 2022 from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, NV.

That’s right, the former light heavyweight champion, Jiri Prochazka is out of UFC 282 due to a shoulder injury and vacating the title. It sounds strange but it’s said to be Jiri’s idea, due to the length of time his recovery will take and his respect for the other fighters in the division.

This is a really uncanny turn of events. Getting ready for his first title defense, against former champion Glover Texiera, Jiri must have injured his shoulder to some severity. Usually in a situation like this, the UFC would create an interim title until the champion is recovered and ready to defend his belt. However, this time Dana White and the UFC brass have moved to have former champion Jan Blachowicz (29-9) against rising star Magomed Ankalaev (18-1) for the vacated title. An Ankalaev wins here this could be the beginning of a new error in the division.

The co-main event will be in the lightweight division, when Paddy ‘The Baddy’ Pimblett meets Jared ‘Flash’ Gordon. Pimblett has been a rising star in the UFC, finishing Jordan Leavitt most recently by second round submission. Jared Gordon won a unanimous decision his last time out against Leonardo Santos. A win here could get either fighter into the top 10 discussions.

UFC 282 Fight Card, Blachowicz vs Ankalaev

Main Card (Airing on ESPN & ESPN+ at 9PM CST)

Jan Blachowicz #2 (29-9-0), (+200) vs Magomed Ankalaev #3 (18-1-0), (-240) – light heavyweight title bout

Paddy Pimblett (19-3-0), (-190) vs Jared Gordon (19-5-0), (+160) – lightweight bout

Robbie Lawler (29-16-0, 1NC), (+310) vs Santiago Ponzinibbio (29-6-0), (-380) – welterweight bout

Darren Till #9 (18-4-1), (+120) vs Dricus Du Plessis #13 (17-2-0), (-140) – middleweight bout

Bryce Mitchell #9 (15-1-0), (+130) vs Ilia Topuria #14 (12-0-0), (-150) – featherweight bout

Prelims (Airing on ESPN & ESPN+ at 7:00PM CST)

Jairzinho Rozenstruik #9 (12-4-0), (-180) vs Chris Daukaus #11 (12-5-0), (+155) – heavyweight bout

Raul Rosas Jr (6-0-0), () vs Jay Perrin (10-6-0), () – bantamweight bout

Edmen Shahbazyan (11-3-0), (-300) vs Dalcha Lungiambula (11-5-0), (+250) – middleweight bout

Chris Curtis #14 (29-9-0), (+115) vs Joauin Buckley (15-5-0), (-135) – middleweight bout

Early Prelims (Airing on UFC Fight Pass at 4:30PM CST)

Billy Quarantillo (16-4-0), (-165) vs Alexander Hernandez (13-5-0), (+140) – featherweight bout

Ovince Saint Preux (), () vs Antonio Trocoli (), () – light heavyweight bout

TJ Brown (16-9-0), () vs Erik Silva (9-1-0), () – featherweight bout

Vinicius Salvador (14-4-0), () vs Daniel Da Silva (11-4-0), () – flyweight bout

Cameron Saaiman (), () vs Steven Koslow (), () – bantamweight bout

That wraps it up for the UFC 282 Fight Card, Blachowicz vs Ankalaev. If you enjoyed this article and want to see more of our UFC News, follow the link and check back with us for the upcoming UFC 282 weigh ins this Friday and get ready for the last, big ppv event of the year on December 10, 2022 happening live from Las Vegas, NV.

As always, thanks for allowing The MMA Beatdown to be your source for news and current events in the world of mixed martial arts.