Weigh-ins have been completed and we now have an official 12-fight card finalized for UFC 282 tomorrow night from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. After originally having 15 scheduled fights, we are now down to twelve after one more last-minute alteration to a lineup that has seen multiple changes already.
Jan Blachowicz vs Magomed Ankalaev will headline the event in a fight for the vacant UFC Light Heavyweight championship after former titleholder Jiri Prochazka was forced to withdraw from the lineup due to a shoulder injury that he sustained during training.
Daniel da Silva was the only fighter who missed weight for this event (he was three pounds over the UFC Flyweight weight limit for his fight against Vinicius Salvador). Subsequently, their fight was removed from the lineup after da Silva withdrew due to a medical issue.
According to the UFC 282 weigh-in show on YouTube, they will now be fighting at UFC 285 in March 2023 due an injury sustained by da Silva leading into this fight.
Since weigh-ins have are finished and we now have a finalized card for tomorrow night, let’s jump right in with our Three Favorite Bets for UFC 282 in Las Vegas:
Jan Blachowicz
Magomed Ankalaev vs Jan Blachowicz
Magomed Ankalaev (18–1 pro record, 9–1 in UFC) enters this fight on a nine-fight winning streak as he takes on former champion Jan Blachowicz (29–9 pro record, 16–6 in UFC) to determine a new UFC Light Heavyweight champion. Ankalaev’s only professional loss came in his UFC debut when he was submitted with one second remaining in his fight with Paul Craig. He has since reeled off nine straight victories with a nearly even split of five knockouts and four decisions among the wins.
Blachowicz is coming off a TKO/KO victory over Aleksandar Rakic earlier this year in his first fight since losing the championship to Glover Texeira at UFC 267. Prior to his loss to Texeira, Blachowicz had won five straight fights with three of them via knockout. While Blachowicz is always a threat during a fight thanks to his famous “Polish Power” (he has nine career knockout victories), Ankalaev has already been inside the octagon with some of the hardest hitters in the division and has continued to find wins each time.
Ankalaev also possesses quite a bit of power in his own punches and strikes, with an identical nine knockout wins in his record in ten fewer fights. Ankalaev should be able to control the striking exchanges in this matchup and his 86% takedown defense in the UFC will likely be enough to keep this fight on the feet if he chooses. Ankalaev has 17 of his 19 career wins via either knockout or decision, while Blachowicz has seen 7 of his 9 losses via the same methods.
Pick: Magomed Ankalaev (-300 ML at BetMGM)
Prop to Watch: Ankalaev by KO/Points Double Chance (-240 at FanDuel)
Jared Gordon
Paddy Pimblett vs Jared Gordon
Paddy “The Baddy” Pimblett (19–3 pro record, 3–0 in UFC) will be taking on Jared “Flash” Gordon (19–5 pro career, 7–4 in UFC) in the co-main event of UFC 282 and has a chance to leap into rarified air within the promotion if he can leave victorious. Pimblett is already one of the most popular fighters currently on the UFC roster and he hasn’t even faced a ranked opponent yet. If he continues his rise through the UFC Lightweight division ranks, he has a chance to reach a level of popularity in the MMA world that few fights have known outside of Conor McGregor, Khabib Nurmagomedov, and Jon Jones.
Gordon definitely won’t be a pushover in the path of Paddy the Baddy, however, as he has won four of his past five fights and will definitely have more experience in the UFC heading into this matchup. While Gordon is a pretty decent grappler, Pimblett should have a sizable advantage in the striking and power departments while being able to hold his own if the fight goes down to the ground.
Pimblett has stopped 15 of his 19 career victories with five knockouts and ten submissions and is always live to finish a fight. While he has been on the wrong end of some exchanges early in his UFC career, he has consistently shown an ability to fight through adversity and win each fight. While Gordon might be able to hold his own or even have some success early in this fight, Pimblett should be able to utilize his five inch reach advantage in the matchup to eventually find a knockout and finish this fight on the ground. Gordon has been finished in all five of his pro losses, with four via knockout.
Pick: Paddy Pimblett (-240 ML at Caesars)
Prop to Watch: Pimblett Inside the Distance (-110 at DraftKings)
Edmen Shahbazyan
Edmen Shahbazyan vs Dalcha Lungiambula
Edmen Shahbazyan (11–3 pro record, 4–3 in UFC) and Dalcha Lungiambula (11–5 pro record, 2–4 in UFC) both enter this matchup on three-fight losing streaks and are looking to get back into the win column. After a scorching hot 11–0 start to his professional career, Shahbazyan is
coming off three consecutive losses against some pretty level names in the UFC Middleweight division (Nasadine Imavov, Jack Hermansson, and Derek Brunson).
Following his most recent loss, Shahbazyan made the decision to switch camps and has now been training at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas and being coached by Eric Nicksick in preparation for this fight. Lungiambula is a dangerous fighter but has struggled to find success so far at the UFC level, dropping four of his past five matchups with the past three coming to many lower-level competitors than the opponents who were beating Shahbazyan.
Lungiambula has also been finished in four of his five professional losses, not an ideal sign against an opponent in Shahbazyan, who has finished 10 of his 11 career wins with nine via knockout. Shahbazyan will have a six-inch height advantage in this matchup and should be able to land strikes with enough damage to get Lungiambula out of this fight sometime in the first two rounds.