UFC 282: Błachowicz vs. Ankalaev Fight Card, TV Info, Predictions and More

The suddenly-vacated light heavyweight championship is up for grabs at UFC 282, with Jan Błachowicz and Magomed Ankalaev closing out the show from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

A shoulder injury with a long expected recovery time forced Jiří Procházka to vacate the light heavyweight championship he earned at UFC 275. The Czech fighter was supposed to be taking on Glover Teixeira in the main event here, but his withdrawal led Teixeira to drop out, and the pairing of Błachowicz and Ankalaev was chosen to be the replacement.

It's an interesting matchup pitting a former champion who recently lost the belt to Teixeira against an up-and-coming star in Ankalaev.

Either Błachowicz will be reunited with his 205-pound championship or we are going to have a new king in the light heavyweight division.

Here's a look at the complete card and predictions for the biggest fights of the night.

Main Card (ESPN+ PPV, 10 p.m. ET)

• Jan Błachowicz (+280; bet $100 to win $280) vs. Magomed Ankalaev (-340; bet $340 to win $100) – for vacant light heavyweight title
• Jared Gordon (+210) vs. Paddy Pimblett (-250)
• Alex Morono (+145) vs. Santiago Ponzinibbio (-170)
• Dricus Du Plessis (-175) vs. Darren Till (+150)
• Bryce Mitchell (+120) vs. Ilia Topuria (-140)

Prelims (ESPN2/ESPN+, 8 p.m. ET)

• Jay Perrin (+200) vs. Raul Rosas Jr. (-240)
• Chris Daukaus (+150) vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik (-175)
• Dalcha Lungiambula (+245) vs. Edmen Shahbazyan (-295)
• Joaquin Buckley (-170) vs. Chris Curtis (+145)

Early Prelims (ESPN+, 6 p.m. ET)

• Alexander Hernandez (+145) vs. Billy Quarantillo (-170)
• TJ Brown (-110) vs. Erik Silva (-110)
• Steven Koslow (+280) vs. Cameron Saaiman (-340)

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook

Jan Błachowicz has proved several times in his career that he shouldn't be discounted. His "Polish power" is well-documented and gives him a shot in just about every fight he's in.

His second-round TKO win over Dominick Reyes is a perfect example. With the title once again vacated, he went out and finished a much younger, more exciting prospect in Reyes to become a champion.

One of his defenses came against Israel Adesanya in another example of how underrated Błachowicz is. He used his size and power to show the middleweight champion wasn't ready to win at 205 pounds.

To win over Ankalaev, he's going to have to turn in an even better performance. The difference between the likes of Reyes and Adesanya is neither of them bring as much pressure and volume as Ankalaev.

The Russian is a strong striker but also has good wrestling. his ability to mix both of them to keep Błachowicz off balance is going to be the key in this fight.

Both will get strikes in early, but it's going to be hard for Błachowicz to land the big strike he needs to change the fight because Ankalaev is likely to keep him on his back foot most of the time.

Prediction: Ankalaev via fourth-round TKO

The UFC could have a star on its hands in Paddy Pimblett. He has the charisma, unique personality and exciting style to sell fights.

The organization seems to understand this. One just has to look at the way they've scheduled the 27-year-old thus far. Every time he fights he gets a bigger stage and is generally paired in a favorable matchup.

There's nothing wrong with that. It's a good way to build stars. But it's also apparent that's what's going on in this situation. The Baddy is being put in a position to raise his profile as the co-headliner on a pay-per-view card, and it's coming against an opponent tailor-made for him to exploit.

Jared Gordon is a solid fighter who is never afraid to throw down even if it isn't advisable. He's been finished four times in his 11 UFC fights, but all of his wins under the promotion's banner have come by decision.

In other words, Pimblett can afford to be aggressive and go for the early finish without fear of getting caught by anything too serious.

Prediction: Pimblett via first-round TKO

The best fight in this entire event might reside at the beginning of the main card. Undefeated featherweights Ilia Topuria and Bryce Mitchell are set to meet in a bout that could generate the latest contender in a loaded division.

Topuria and Mitchell have both found success as rising prospects, but they have done it in distinctly different ways. Topuria is an adept striker with knockout power in his hands. Mitchell is a relentless wrestler with slick submission skills that complement the skill set well.

Now they'll meet, and someone is losing the zero in their record.

The closest facsimile that Topuria has fought was Ryan Hall. Hall is a decorated jiu-jitsu player, but Topuria starched him in the first round before we could actually see how he could handle himself on the ground.

In a matchup between an elite young striker and an elite young grappler, it's hard to go against the grappler. Mitchell has the tools in his kit to neutralize Topuria's striking game and force him to grapple.

There's always the chance he gets the same treatment as Hall, but Mitchell's style could give Topuria fits.

Prediction: Mitchell via decision

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