Muscle Insider
New member
On Saturday, the MMA leader returned to our screens for its final pay-per-view event of the year, UFC 282.
Inside Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena, the UFC moved closer to the conclusion of its 2022 schedule, with just one card now remaining. The penultimate offering came on PPV and featured a title up for grabs and a number of contenders, prospects, and debutants all hoping to impress.
In the headliner, former UFC light heavyweight champion Jan B?achowicz looked to regain the gold by stalling Magomed Ankalaev’s ambition to become Dagestan’s first 205-pound UFC titleholder.
While the plan was for a name to be attached to the vacant light heavyweight belt at the top of the card (that went well, didn’t it?), a number of other questions promised to be answered below it.
Which featherweight contender would lose their 0, Bryce Mitchell or Ilia Topuria? Could Darren Till find form in his return to action? Would Paddy Pimblett extend his unbeaten UFC record in his first appearance in the PPV spotlight? Success or setback for the UFC’s youngest-ever fighter?
The ultimate question now is were those queries answered in an entertaining and memorable end to the PPV calendar for 2022? Let’s find out with the positives and negatives from UFC 282.
Negative – Samurai-less
Not to focus on what could’ve been, but…
I didn’t want my feeling of disappointment about the late shakeup to the UFC 282 card to be evident, but here we are. From the start of fight week to the main event walks, the absence of a champion thrust off the throne through injury was prevalent on my mind — and many’s, it seemed.
Saturday’s headliner was originally scheduled to see Ji?í Procházka defend the light heavyweight title for the first time in a rematch with Glover Teixeira. Although the matchup didn’t appear to stir up a huge amount of intrigue, it made sense. And given how they fought at UFC 275, it certainly could have brought fireworks to the cage again.
With a severe shoulder injury ruling the champion out, and with his fighting spirit seeing him relinquish the gold, the originally scheduled co-main event became the poster pairing. But while the undisputed title was on the line, never has a championship bout felt as “interim” as this one did.
It surprised me to hear Dana White admit that neither B?achowicz nor Ankalaev would feel like the true champ with a win pre-fight, but nevertheless, he’s not wrong.
Positive – Oh Billy Q, We Love You
Nothing screams ‘turn up for the early prelims’ quite like a Billy Quarantillo appearance.
At UFC 282, the always entertaining Quarantillo welcomed longtime lightweight Alexander Hernandez to 145 pounds. When the bout was announced, most anticipated that “The Great Ape” would have trouble on the scale. In the end, he looked healthy and appeared to have perfected the cut.
And in his opening round as a featherweight, it seemed likely that I’d be writing superlatives to describe an impressive divisional debut. Hernandez looked solid on the feet, and once on the ground, delivered effective ground-and-pound to open up a nasty cut on Quarantillo’s forehead.
But like a shark (or the opposite of one), Quarantillo’s own blood appeared to awaken a new beast come round two. Let it be known, bust “Billy Q” open, expect a ferocious aggressor to come at you in the next round.
Unfortunately for Hernandez, Quarantillo’s relentless onslaught proved to be too much. While he remained on his feet, the Missouri native repeatedly ate shots and was never able to recover, forcing a standing TKO stoppage.
Although the opening two fights of the night were by no means uneventful, it was this pairing that really thrilled those who entered the arena on time (AKA the sane ones).
Positive – The Golden Boy Is Back
One of the more notable stories at play heading into UFC 282 was the return of Edmen Shahbazyan. Entering 2020, the then-22-year-old was as highly touted as anyone having extended his unblemished professional record to 11-0 by knocking out Brad Tavares.
But proving to be the victim of a rise too soon, Shahbazyan suffered consecutive losses to top-10 contenders Derek Brunson and Jack Hermansson before a devastating setback at the hands of Nassourdine Imavov last November left the Glendale native at a crossroads.
There, he followed a path that led him to Las Vegas’ Xtreme Couture gym and a year-plus layoff. Suffice to say, those decisions have paid dividends.
On Saturday, Shahbazyan returned to the win column in style. Against powerhouse Dalcha Lungiambula, the 25-year-old was patient and controlled before making the most of an opportunity to deliver the kind of spectacular finish we came to know of him pre-pandemic.
After landing a brutal flying knee, “The Golden Boy” swarmed and eventually forced the referee to step in. It looked like Shahbazyan was perhaps close to punching himself out, so Chris Tognoni probably did him a favor…
Not only was Shahbzayan’s return to form a positive, especially given the massive potential he once showed, but the finish that came along with it was not half bad either.
Image Credit: Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC
Positive – Oh (Bigi) Boy!
Some people have power. Jairzinho Rozenstruik has POWER, with a capital P.
While he’s had some disappointing results in the UFC, “Bigi Boy” has also racked up quite the impressive list of short and successful nights. Allen Crowder lasted just nine seconds against the Surinamese heavyweight, whilst former champion Andrei Arlovski also failed to make it to the 30-second mark.
We can now add the name of Chris Daukaus to the undesired sub-30 club, and like Crowder in 2019, it was Rozenstruik’s vicious jab that did the damage.
In seconds, the Philadelphian was on the back foot and scrambling to escape having been rocked by a left jab. After surviving for a brief period, the back-pedaling Daukaus didn’t have the speed or bearings to avoid the next shot — a flush lead jab that sent him to a third consecutive knockout loss.
With such immense power, Rozenstruik’s continued presence towards the top of the division is a positive. While he’s struggled to let his hands go in some outings, it’s hard to imagine anyone surviving a clean shot from the 34-year-old KO artist.
“Bigi Boy” vs. “Bam Bam” in 2023 anyone?
Positive – Record-Breaker
Youngest fighter signed to the UFC
Youngest fighter to compete in the UFC
Youngest fighter to win in the UFC
Whatever Raul Rosas Jr. goes on to achieve on MMA’s biggest stage — judging by his already polished skill set and how over he appears to be with the UFC audience, that’s potentially stardom — the Mexican-American has already created a reputation that will precede him for the remainder of his career.
In UFC 282’s featured prelim, “El Niño Problema” debuted against Jay Perrin. Whilst “The Joker” promised to stall Rosas Jr.’s lofty ambitions, he was simply outmatched from the get-go, eventually falling to a rear-naked choke submission in round one after a prolonged period defending.
And a star was born…
Positive – Emphatic
Yep, Ilia Topuria is a bit good at fighting isn’t he?
“El Matador” has long gone under the radar as a legitimate future contender. I expected UFC 282 to mark his coming out party, but for it to be so dominant? Nope, didn’t see that coming.
From minute one, the Georgian-Spaniard pieced Mitchell up on the feet and used his low base to fend off the Arkansas native’s takedown attempts. Whilst “Thug Nasty” did enjoy some top position at the end of the opening frame, that success was to be short-lived.
In the second round, Topuria began to eat a few shots as he swung wildly. But rather than that being an ill-advised strategy, it appeared that he’d simply dismissed Mitchell as a threat on the feet and didn’t fear the grappling exchanges either.
The latter point proved to be for good reason.
After knocking Mitchell down, Topuria didn’t hesitate to follow him to the ground. A mistake, he heard you all cry? From there, “El Matador” pretty much rag-dolled “Thug Nasty” en route to an arm-triangle choke.
With that, the featherweight division has a new title contender. And what better way to mark his newfound notoriety than calling for Brian Ortega to head to Spain.
UFC Madrid? Let me get my sunglasses.
Negative – Till’s Decline Continues
It’s worth noting that nothing about Dricus du Plessis’ performance at UFC 282 was a negative. The South African continued his charge up the middleweight ladder with a fairly comfortable victory over a former welterweight title challenger.
However, given who it came against, the result certainly had more to it than just the arrival of a new contender in the top 10. It also further compounded the woes of Darren Till, who is now winless since 2019 and with just one victory in his last six outings.
When he arrived at 185 pounds by defeating Kelvin Gastelum and going the distance in a competitive headline clash with Robert Whittaker, it appeared that “The Gorilla” could be reinvented at the higher weight. But since his date with “The Reaper,” it’s all been downhill for the Liverpool native.
Aside from a solid second round on the feet at UFC 282, Till didn’t really come close to mustering anything noteworthy. In the first, he was battered against the fence, and in the third, he was submitted with what looked to be a neck crank.
Whether it’s a lack of confidence, some major grappling deficiencies, or all of the above, Till simply doesn’t look close to elite right now. And in an evening that’d already brought me and my compatriots England’s exit from the FIFA World Cup, Till’s defeat didn’t do much to boost our national spirit across the pond…
Negative – Questionable
Paddy Pimblett will be heading back to Liverpool with his UFC 0 in tact, but beyond his public demeanor and confidence, I imagine he’s feeling fortunate.
Did he do enough to win the fight? No, not for me.
Two of the three judges gave the first round to “The Baddy.” On first view, that baffles me. “Flash” consistently landed the harder shots throughout the frame, and there was little doubt in my mind who was up heading into the second.
While Pimblett hit back in the middle of the fight, the third round saw him offer little offense as he was controlled against the cage for much of the stanza. In fairness, Gordon also didn’t muster much effective offense late, but on my card, he was up 29-28.
So why was it that a Pimblett win still felt inevitable?
I’m hesitant to call ‘robbery’ in many instances. In this case, I’d offer that the fight was relatively close, but with one fighter appearing to have a clear edge. That man was not Pimblett.
Image Credit: Carmen Mandato/Zuffa LLC
Side note — Pimblett’s calls for Fight of the Night were unbelievably ambitious, and the entire post-fight interview somewhat came across as “The Baddy” looking to do damage control and bring the masses back on side.
Time will tell whether it worked.
Negative – Not Ideal…
Well then. That is not an ideal way for the UFC to close out its pay-per-view calendar for 2022…
I’ll be honest. At 6AM (GMT), my focus on the fight wasn’t 100%. However, my initial thought was that Dagestan should’ve have its first UFC light heavyweight champion, and the Polish representative appeared to think as much, too. But Magomed Ankalaev was denied by a 47-47 scorecard and one in favor of Jan B?achowicz, leading to a split draw.
While the decision will no doubt receive a wide array of takes and disagreements, it’s safe to say that the fight itself didn’t thrill or provide a great final PPV main event for the promotion this year.
Also, having had the title made vacant through injury, this was worst-case scenario for the division. With that, the initial question was who fights for the belt next? In the eyes of many, Ankalaev should be champion. Meanwhile, B?achowicz put forth the idea of a rematch. And elsewhere, Glover Teixeira is still owed a shot…
Well, within minutes, we had our answer. Mr. ‘I don’t make fights on the same night’ made a fight… on the night.
At the post-fight press conference, UFC President Dana White announced that Teixeira will challenge for the vacant title in Brazil next month. His foe? Jamahal Hill. Nothing says ‘legitimate championship’ like two completely different challengers competing for a vacant belt a month after two others fought to a draw for it.
No rewards for working out what White and the promotion made of B?achowicz and Ankalaev’s performances, and the Dagestani’s post-fight threat to leave.
The term ‘mess’ doesn’t even come close.
What were your positives and negatives from UFC 282?
On Saturday, the MMA leader returned to our screens for its final pay-per-view event of the year, UFC 282.
Inside Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena, the UFC moved closer to the conclusion of its 2022 schedule, with just one card now remaining. The penultimate offering came on PPV and featured a title up for grabs and a number of contenders, prospects, and debutants all hoping to impress.
In the headliner, former UFC light heavyweight champion Jan B?achowicz looked to regain the gold by stalling Magomed Ankalaev’s ambition to become Dagestan’s first 205-pound UFC titleholder.
While the plan was for a name to be attached to the vacant light heavyweight belt at the top of the card (that went well, didn’t it?), a number of other questions promised to be answered below it.
Which featherweight contender would lose their 0, Bryce Mitchell or Ilia Topuria? Could Darren Till find form in his return to action? Would Paddy Pimblett extend his unbeaten UFC record in his first appearance in the PPV spotlight? Success or setback for the UFC’s youngest-ever fighter?
The ultimate question now is were those queries answered in an entertaining and memorable end to the PPV calendar for 2022? Let’s find out with the positives and negatives from UFC 282.
Negative – Samurai-less
Not to focus on what could’ve been, but…
I didn’t want my feeling of disappointment about the late shakeup to the UFC 282 card to be evident, but here we are. From the start of fight week to the main event walks, the absence of a champion thrust off the throne through injury was prevalent on my mind — and many’s, it seemed.
Saturday’s headliner was originally scheduled to see Ji?í Procházka defend the light heavyweight title for the first time in a rematch with Glover Teixeira. Although the matchup didn’t appear to stir up a huge amount of intrigue, it made sense. And given how they fought at UFC 275, it certainly could have brought fireworks to the cage again.
With a severe shoulder injury ruling the champion out, and with his fighting spirit seeing him relinquish the gold, the originally scheduled co-main event became the poster pairing. But while the undisputed title was on the line, never has a championship bout felt as “interim” as this one did.
It surprised me to hear Dana White admit that neither B?achowicz nor Ankalaev would feel like the true champ with a win pre-fight, but nevertheless, he’s not wrong.
Positive – Oh Billy Q, We Love You
Nothing screams ‘turn up for the early prelims’ quite like a Billy Quarantillo appearance.
At UFC 282, the always entertaining Quarantillo welcomed longtime lightweight Alexander Hernandez to 145 pounds. When the bout was announced, most anticipated that “The Great Ape” would have trouble on the scale. In the end, he looked healthy and appeared to have perfected the cut.
And in his opening round as a featherweight, it seemed likely that I’d be writing superlatives to describe an impressive divisional debut. Hernandez looked solid on the feet, and once on the ground, delivered effective ground-and-pound to open up a nasty cut on Quarantillo’s forehead.
But like a shark (or the opposite of one), Quarantillo’s own blood appeared to awaken a new beast come round two. Let it be known, bust “Billy Q” open, expect a ferocious aggressor to come at you in the next round.
Unfortunately for Hernandez, Quarantillo’s relentless onslaught proved to be too much. While he remained on his feet, the Missouri native repeatedly ate shots and was never able to recover, forcing a standing TKO stoppage.
Although the opening two fights of the night were by no means uneventful, it was this pairing that really thrilled those who entered the arena on time (AKA the sane ones).
Positive – The Golden Boy Is Back
One of the more notable stories at play heading into UFC 282 was the return of Edmen Shahbazyan. Entering 2020, the then-22-year-old was as highly touted as anyone having extended his unblemished professional record to 11-0 by knocking out Brad Tavares.
But proving to be the victim of a rise too soon, Shahbazyan suffered consecutive losses to top-10 contenders Derek Brunson and Jack Hermansson before a devastating setback at the hands of Nassourdine Imavov last November left the Glendale native at a crossroads.
There, he followed a path that led him to Las Vegas’ Xtreme Couture gym and a year-plus layoff. Suffice to say, those decisions have paid dividends.
On Saturday, Shahbazyan returned to the win column in style. Against powerhouse Dalcha Lungiambula, the 25-year-old was patient and controlled before making the most of an opportunity to deliver the kind of spectacular finish we came to know of him pre-pandemic.
After landing a brutal flying knee, “The Golden Boy” swarmed and eventually forced the referee to step in. It looked like Shahbazyan was perhaps close to punching himself out, so Chris Tognoni probably did him a favor…
Not only was Shahbzayan’s return to form a positive, especially given the massive potential he once showed, but the finish that came along with it was not half bad either.
Image Credit: Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC
Positive – Oh (Bigi) Boy!
Some people have power. Jairzinho Rozenstruik has POWER, with a capital P.
While he’s had some disappointing results in the UFC, “Bigi Boy” has also racked up quite the impressive list of short and successful nights. Allen Crowder lasted just nine seconds against the Surinamese heavyweight, whilst former champion Andrei Arlovski also failed to make it to the 30-second mark.
We can now add the name of Chris Daukaus to the undesired sub-30 club, and like Crowder in 2019, it was Rozenstruik’s vicious jab that did the damage.
In seconds, the Philadelphian was on the back foot and scrambling to escape having been rocked by a left jab. After surviving for a brief period, the back-pedaling Daukaus didn’t have the speed or bearings to avoid the next shot — a flush lead jab that sent him to a third consecutive knockout loss.
With such immense power, Rozenstruik’s continued presence towards the top of the division is a positive. While he’s struggled to let his hands go in some outings, it’s hard to imagine anyone surviving a clean shot from the 34-year-old KO artist.
“Bigi Boy” vs. “Bam Bam” in 2023 anyone?
Positive – Record-Breaker
In UFC 282’s featured prelim, “El Niño Problema” debuted against Jay Perrin. Whilst “The Joker” promised to stall Rosas Jr.’s lofty ambitions, he was simply outmatched from the get-go, eventually falling to a rear-naked choke submission in round one after a prolonged period defending.
And a star was born…
Positive – Emphatic
Yep, Ilia Topuria is a bit good at fighting isn’t he?
“El Matador” has long gone under the radar as a legitimate future contender. I expected UFC 282 to mark his coming out party, but for it to be so dominant? Nope, didn’t see that coming.
From minute one, the Georgian-Spaniard pieced Mitchell up on the feet and used his low base to fend off the Arkansas native’s takedown attempts. Whilst “Thug Nasty” did enjoy some top position at the end of the opening frame, that success was to be short-lived.
In the second round, Topuria began to eat a few shots as he swung wildly. But rather than that being an ill-advised strategy, it appeared that he’d simply dismissed Mitchell as a threat on the feet and didn’t fear the grappling exchanges either.
The latter point proved to be for good reason.
After knocking Mitchell down, Topuria didn’t hesitate to follow him to the ground. A mistake, he heard you all cry? From there, “El Matador” pretty much rag-dolled “Thug Nasty” en route to an arm-triangle choke.
With that, the featherweight division has a new title contender. And what better way to mark his newfound notoriety than calling for Brian Ortega to head to Spain.
UFC Madrid? Let me get my sunglasses.
Negative – Till’s Decline Continues
It’s worth noting that nothing about Dricus du Plessis’ performance at UFC 282 was a negative. The South African continued his charge up the middleweight ladder with a fairly comfortable victory over a former welterweight title challenger.
However, given who it came against, the result certainly had more to it than just the arrival of a new contender in the top 10. It also further compounded the woes of Darren Till, who is now winless since 2019 and with just one victory in his last six outings.
When he arrived at 185 pounds by defeating Kelvin Gastelum and going the distance in a competitive headline clash with Robert Whittaker, it appeared that “The Gorilla” could be reinvented at the higher weight. But since his date with “The Reaper,” it’s all been downhill for the Liverpool native.
Aside from a solid second round on the feet at UFC 282, Till didn’t really come close to mustering anything noteworthy. In the first, he was battered against the fence, and in the third, he was submitted with what looked to be a neck crank.
Whether it’s a lack of confidence, some major grappling deficiencies, or all of the above, Till simply doesn’t look close to elite right now. And in an evening that’d already brought me and my compatriots England’s exit from the FIFA World Cup, Till’s defeat didn’t do much to boost our national spirit across the pond…
Negative – Questionable
Paddy Pimblett will be heading back to Liverpool with his UFC 0 in tact, but beyond his public demeanor and confidence, I imagine he’s feeling fortunate.
Did he do enough to win the fight? No, not for me.
Two of the three judges gave the first round to “The Baddy.” On first view, that baffles me. “Flash” consistently landed the harder shots throughout the frame, and there was little doubt in my mind who was up heading into the second.
While Pimblett hit back in the middle of the fight, the third round saw him offer little offense as he was controlled against the cage for much of the stanza. In fairness, Gordon also didn’t muster much effective offense late, but on my card, he was up 29-28.
So why was it that a Pimblett win still felt inevitable?
I’m hesitant to call ‘robbery’ in many instances. In this case, I’d offer that the fight was relatively close, but with one fighter appearing to have a clear edge. That man was not Pimblett.
Image Credit: Carmen Mandato/Zuffa LLC
Side note — Pimblett’s calls for Fight of the Night were unbelievably ambitious, and the entire post-fight interview somewhat came across as “The Baddy” looking to do damage control and bring the masses back on side.
Time will tell whether it worked.
Negative – Not Ideal…
Well then. That is not an ideal way for the UFC to close out its pay-per-view calendar for 2022…
I’ll be honest. At 6AM (GMT), my focus on the fight wasn’t 100%. However, my initial thought was that Dagestan should’ve have its first UFC light heavyweight champion, and the Polish representative appeared to think as much, too. But Magomed Ankalaev was denied by a 47-47 scorecard and one in favor of Jan B?achowicz, leading to a split draw.
While the decision will no doubt receive a wide array of takes and disagreements, it’s safe to say that the fight itself didn’t thrill or provide a great final PPV main event for the promotion this year.
Also, having had the title made vacant through injury, this was worst-case scenario for the division. With that, the initial question was who fights for the belt next? In the eyes of many, Ankalaev should be champion. Meanwhile, B?achowicz put forth the idea of a rematch. And elsewhere, Glover Teixeira is still owed a shot…
Well, within minutes, we had our answer. Mr. ‘I don’t make fights on the same night’ made a fight… on the night.
At the post-fight press conference, UFC President Dana White announced that Teixeira will challenge for the vacant title in Brazil next month. His foe? Jamahal Hill. Nothing says ‘legitimate championship’ like two completely different challengers competing for a vacant belt a month after two others fought to a draw for it.
No rewards for working out what White and the promotion made of B?achowicz and Ankalaev’s performances, and the Dagestani’s post-fight threat to leave.
The term ‘mess’ doesn’t even come close.
What were your positives and negatives from UFC 282?
Click here to view the article.
Inside Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena, the UFC moved closer to the conclusion of its 2022 schedule, with just one card now remaining. The penultimate offering came on PPV and featured a title up for grabs and a number of contenders, prospects, and debutants all hoping to impress.
In the headliner, former UFC light heavyweight champion Jan B?achowicz looked to regain the gold by stalling Magomed Ankalaev’s ambition to become Dagestan’s first 205-pound UFC titleholder.
While the plan was for a name to be attached to the vacant light heavyweight belt at the top of the card (that went well, didn’t it?), a number of other questions promised to be answered below it.
Which featherweight contender would lose their 0, Bryce Mitchell or Ilia Topuria? Could Darren Till find form in his return to action? Would Paddy Pimblett extend his unbeaten UFC record in his first appearance in the PPV spotlight? Success or setback for the UFC’s youngest-ever fighter?
The ultimate question now is were those queries answered in an entertaining and memorable end to the PPV calendar for 2022? Let’s find out with the positives and negatives from UFC 282.
Negative – Samurai-less
Not to focus on what could’ve been, but…
I didn’t want my feeling of disappointment about the late shakeup to the UFC 282 card to be evident, but here we are. From the start of fight week to the main event walks, the absence of a champion thrust off the throne through injury was prevalent on my mind — and many’s, it seemed.
Saturday’s headliner was originally scheduled to see Ji?í Procházka defend the light heavyweight title for the first time in a rematch with Glover Teixeira. Although the matchup didn’t appear to stir up a huge amount of intrigue, it made sense. And given how they fought at UFC 275, it certainly could have brought fireworks to the cage again.
With a severe shoulder injury ruling the champion out, and with his fighting spirit seeing him relinquish the gold, the originally scheduled co-main event became the poster pairing. But while the undisputed title was on the line, never has a championship bout felt as “interim” as this one did.
It surprised me to hear Dana White admit that neither B?achowicz nor Ankalaev would feel like the true champ with a win pre-fight, but nevertheless, he’s not wrong.
Positive – Oh Billy Q, We Love You
Nothing screams ‘turn up for the early prelims’ quite like a Billy Quarantillo appearance.
At UFC 282, the always entertaining Quarantillo welcomed longtime lightweight Alexander Hernandez to 145 pounds. When the bout was announced, most anticipated that “The Great Ape” would have trouble on the scale. In the end, he looked healthy and appeared to have perfected the cut.
And in his opening round as a featherweight, it seemed likely that I’d be writing superlatives to describe an impressive divisional debut. Hernandez looked solid on the feet, and once on the ground, delivered effective ground-and-pound to open up a nasty cut on Quarantillo’s forehead.
But like a shark (or the opposite of one), Quarantillo’s own blood appeared to awaken a new beast come round two. Let it be known, bust “Billy Q” open, expect a ferocious aggressor to come at you in the next round.
Unfortunately for Hernandez, Quarantillo’s relentless onslaught proved to be too much. While he remained on his feet, the Missouri native repeatedly ate shots and was never able to recover, forcing a standing TKO stoppage.
Although the opening two fights of the night were by no means uneventful, it was this pairing that really thrilled those who entered the arena on time (AKA the sane ones).
Positive – The Golden Boy Is Back
One of the more notable stories at play heading into UFC 282 was the return of Edmen Shahbazyan. Entering 2020, the then-22-year-old was as highly touted as anyone having extended his unblemished professional record to 11-0 by knocking out Brad Tavares.
But proving to be the victim of a rise too soon, Shahbazyan suffered consecutive losses to top-10 contenders Derek Brunson and Jack Hermansson before a devastating setback at the hands of Nassourdine Imavov last November left the Glendale native at a crossroads.
There, he followed a path that led him to Las Vegas’ Xtreme Couture gym and a year-plus layoff. Suffice to say, those decisions have paid dividends.
On Saturday, Shahbazyan returned to the win column in style. Against powerhouse Dalcha Lungiambula, the 25-year-old was patient and controlled before making the most of an opportunity to deliver the kind of spectacular finish we came to know of him pre-pandemic.
After landing a brutal flying knee, “The Golden Boy” swarmed and eventually forced the referee to step in. It looked like Shahbazyan was perhaps close to punching himself out, so Chris Tognoni probably did him a favor…
Not only was Shahbzayan’s return to form a positive, especially given the massive potential he once showed, but the finish that came along with it was not half bad either.
Image Credit: Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC
Positive – Oh (Bigi) Boy!
Some people have power. Jairzinho Rozenstruik has POWER, with a capital P.
While he’s had some disappointing results in the UFC, “Bigi Boy” has also racked up quite the impressive list of short and successful nights. Allen Crowder lasted just nine seconds against the Surinamese heavyweight, whilst former champion Andrei Arlovski also failed to make it to the 30-second mark.
We can now add the name of Chris Daukaus to the undesired sub-30 club, and like Crowder in 2019, it was Rozenstruik’s vicious jab that did the damage.
In seconds, the Philadelphian was on the back foot and scrambling to escape having been rocked by a left jab. After surviving for a brief period, the back-pedaling Daukaus didn’t have the speed or bearings to avoid the next shot — a flush lead jab that sent him to a third consecutive knockout loss.
With such immense power, Rozenstruik’s continued presence towards the top of the division is a positive. While he’s struggled to let his hands go in some outings, it’s hard to imagine anyone surviving a clean shot from the 34-year-old KO artist.
“Bigi Boy” vs. “Bam Bam” in 2023 anyone?
Positive – Record-Breaker
Youngest fighter signed to the UFC
Youngest fighter to compete in the UFC
Youngest fighter to win in the UFC
Whatever Raul Rosas Jr. goes on to achieve on MMA’s biggest stage — judging by his already polished skill set and how over he appears to be with the UFC audience, that’s potentially stardom — the Mexican-American has already created a reputation that will precede him for the remainder of his career.
In UFC 282’s featured prelim, “El Niño Problema” debuted against Jay Perrin. Whilst “The Joker” promised to stall Rosas Jr.’s lofty ambitions, he was simply outmatched from the get-go, eventually falling to a rear-naked choke submission in round one after a prolonged period defending.
And a star was born…
Positive – Emphatic
Yep, Ilia Topuria is a bit good at fighting isn’t he?
“El Matador” has long gone under the radar as a legitimate future contender. I expected UFC 282 to mark his coming out party, but for it to be so dominant? Nope, didn’t see that coming.
From minute one, the Georgian-Spaniard pieced Mitchell up on the feet and used his low base to fend off the Arkansas native’s takedown attempts. Whilst “Thug Nasty” did enjoy some top position at the end of the opening frame, that success was to be short-lived.
In the second round, Topuria began to eat a few shots as he swung wildly. But rather than that being an ill-advised strategy, it appeared that he’d simply dismissed Mitchell as a threat on the feet and didn’t fear the grappling exchanges either.
The latter point proved to be for good reason.
After knocking Mitchell down, Topuria didn’t hesitate to follow him to the ground. A mistake, he heard you all cry? From there, “El Matador” pretty much rag-dolled “Thug Nasty” en route to an arm-triangle choke.
With that, the featherweight division has a new title contender. And what better way to mark his newfound notoriety than calling for Brian Ortega to head to Spain.
UFC Madrid? Let me get my sunglasses.
Negative – Till’s Decline Continues
It’s worth noting that nothing about Dricus du Plessis’ performance at UFC 282 was a negative. The South African continued his charge up the middleweight ladder with a fairly comfortable victory over a former welterweight title challenger.
However, given who it came against, the result certainly had more to it than just the arrival of a new contender in the top 10. It also further compounded the woes of Darren Till, who is now winless since 2019 and with just one victory in his last six outings.
When he arrived at 185 pounds by defeating Kelvin Gastelum and going the distance in a competitive headline clash with Robert Whittaker, it appeared that “The Gorilla” could be reinvented at the higher weight. But since his date with “The Reaper,” it’s all been downhill for the Liverpool native.
Aside from a solid second round on the feet at UFC 282, Till didn’t really come close to mustering anything noteworthy. In the first, he was battered against the fence, and in the third, he was submitted with what looked to be a neck crank.
Whether it’s a lack of confidence, some major grappling deficiencies, or all of the above, Till simply doesn’t look close to elite right now. And in an evening that’d already brought me and my compatriots England’s exit from the FIFA World Cup, Till’s defeat didn’t do much to boost our national spirit across the pond…
Negative – Questionable
Paddy Pimblett will be heading back to Liverpool with his UFC 0 in tact, but beyond his public demeanor and confidence, I imagine he’s feeling fortunate.
Did he do enough to win the fight? No, not for me.
Two of the three judges gave the first round to “The Baddy.” On first view, that baffles me. “Flash” consistently landed the harder shots throughout the frame, and there was little doubt in my mind who was up heading into the second.
While Pimblett hit back in the middle of the fight, the third round saw him offer little offense as he was controlled against the cage for much of the stanza. In fairness, Gordon also didn’t muster much effective offense late, but on my card, he was up 29-28.
So why was it that a Pimblett win still felt inevitable?
I’m hesitant to call ‘robbery’ in many instances. In this case, I’d offer that the fight was relatively close, but with one fighter appearing to have a clear edge. That man was not Pimblett.
Image Credit: Carmen Mandato/Zuffa LLC
Side note — Pimblett’s calls for Fight of the Night were unbelievably ambitious, and the entire post-fight interview somewhat came across as “The Baddy” looking to do damage control and bring the masses back on side.
Time will tell whether it worked.
Negative – Not Ideal…
Well then. That is not an ideal way for the UFC to close out its pay-per-view calendar for 2022…
I’ll be honest. At 6AM (GMT), my focus on the fight wasn’t 100%. However, my initial thought was that Dagestan should’ve have its first UFC light heavyweight champion, and the Polish representative appeared to think as much, too. But Magomed Ankalaev was denied by a 47-47 scorecard and one in favor of Jan B?achowicz, leading to a split draw.
While the decision will no doubt receive a wide array of takes and disagreements, it’s safe to say that the fight itself didn’t thrill or provide a great final PPV main event for the promotion this year.
Also, having had the title made vacant through injury, this was worst-case scenario for the division. With that, the initial question was who fights for the belt next? In the eyes of many, Ankalaev should be champion. Meanwhile, B?achowicz put forth the idea of a rematch. And elsewhere, Glover Teixeira is still owed a shot…
Well, within minutes, we had our answer. Mr. ‘I don’t make fights on the same night’ made a fight… on the night.
At the post-fight press conference, UFC President Dana White announced that Teixeira will challenge for the vacant title in Brazil next month. His foe? Jamahal Hill. Nothing says ‘legitimate championship’ like two completely different challengers competing for a vacant belt a month after two others fought to a draw for it.
No rewards for working out what White and the promotion made of B?achowicz and Ankalaev’s performances, and the Dagestani’s post-fight threat to leave.
The term ‘mess’ doesn’t even come close.
What were your positives and negatives from UFC 282?
On Saturday, the MMA leader returned to our screens for its final pay-per-view event of the year, UFC 282.
Inside Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena, the UFC moved closer to the conclusion of its 2022 schedule, with just one card now remaining. The penultimate offering came on PPV and featured a title up for grabs and a number of contenders, prospects, and debutants all hoping to impress.
In the headliner, former UFC light heavyweight champion Jan B?achowicz looked to regain the gold by stalling Magomed Ankalaev’s ambition to become Dagestan’s first 205-pound UFC titleholder.
While the plan was for a name to be attached to the vacant light heavyweight belt at the top of the card (that went well, didn’t it?), a number of other questions promised to be answered below it.
Which featherweight contender would lose their 0, Bryce Mitchell or Ilia Topuria? Could Darren Till find form in his return to action? Would Paddy Pimblett extend his unbeaten UFC record in his first appearance in the PPV spotlight? Success or setback for the UFC’s youngest-ever fighter?
The ultimate question now is were those queries answered in an entertaining and memorable end to the PPV calendar for 2022? Let’s find out with the positives and negatives from UFC 282.
Negative – Samurai-less
Not to focus on what could’ve been, but…
I didn’t want my feeling of disappointment about the late shakeup to the UFC 282 card to be evident, but here we are. From the start of fight week to the main event walks, the absence of a champion thrust off the throne through injury was prevalent on my mind — and many’s, it seemed.
Saturday’s headliner was originally scheduled to see Ji?í Procházka defend the light heavyweight title for the first time in a rematch with Glover Teixeira. Although the matchup didn’t appear to stir up a huge amount of intrigue, it made sense. And given how they fought at UFC 275, it certainly could have brought fireworks to the cage again.
With a severe shoulder injury ruling the champion out, and with his fighting spirit seeing him relinquish the gold, the originally scheduled co-main event became the poster pairing. But while the undisputed title was on the line, never has a championship bout felt as “interim” as this one did.
It surprised me to hear Dana White admit that neither B?achowicz nor Ankalaev would feel like the true champ with a win pre-fight, but nevertheless, he’s not wrong.
Positive – Oh Billy Q, We Love You
Nothing screams ‘turn up for the early prelims’ quite like a Billy Quarantillo appearance.
At UFC 282, the always entertaining Quarantillo welcomed longtime lightweight Alexander Hernandez to 145 pounds. When the bout was announced, most anticipated that “The Great Ape” would have trouble on the scale. In the end, he looked healthy and appeared to have perfected the cut.
And in his opening round as a featherweight, it seemed likely that I’d be writing superlatives to describe an impressive divisional debut. Hernandez looked solid on the feet, and once on the ground, delivered effective ground-and-pound to open up a nasty cut on Quarantillo’s forehead.
But like a shark (or the opposite of one), Quarantillo’s own blood appeared to awaken a new beast come round two. Let it be known, bust “Billy Q” open, expect a ferocious aggressor to come at you in the next round.
Unfortunately for Hernandez, Quarantillo’s relentless onslaught proved to be too much. While he remained on his feet, the Missouri native repeatedly ate shots and was never able to recover, forcing a standing TKO stoppage.
Although the opening two fights of the night were by no means uneventful, it was this pairing that really thrilled those who entered the arena on time (AKA the sane ones).
Positive – The Golden Boy Is Back
One of the more notable stories at play heading into UFC 282 was the return of Edmen Shahbazyan. Entering 2020, the then-22-year-old was as highly touted as anyone having extended his unblemished professional record to 11-0 by knocking out Brad Tavares.
But proving to be the victim of a rise too soon, Shahbazyan suffered consecutive losses to top-10 contenders Derek Brunson and Jack Hermansson before a devastating setback at the hands of Nassourdine Imavov last November left the Glendale native at a crossroads.
There, he followed a path that led him to Las Vegas’ Xtreme Couture gym and a year-plus layoff. Suffice to say, those decisions have paid dividends.
On Saturday, Shahbazyan returned to the win column in style. Against powerhouse Dalcha Lungiambula, the 25-year-old was patient and controlled before making the most of an opportunity to deliver the kind of spectacular finish we came to know of him pre-pandemic.
After landing a brutal flying knee, “The Golden Boy” swarmed and eventually forced the referee to step in. It looked like Shahbazyan was perhaps close to punching himself out, so Chris Tognoni probably did him a favor…
Not only was Shahbzayan’s return to form a positive, especially given the massive potential he once showed, but the finish that came along with it was not half bad either.
Positive – Oh (Bigi) Boy!
Some people have power. Jairzinho Rozenstruik has POWER, with a capital P.
While he’s had some disappointing results in the UFC, “Bigi Boy” has also racked up quite the impressive list of short and successful nights. Allen Crowder lasted just nine seconds against the Surinamese heavyweight, whilst former champion Andrei Arlovski also failed to make it to the 30-second mark.
We can now add the name of Chris Daukaus to the undesired sub-30 club, and like Crowder in 2019, it was Rozenstruik’s vicious jab that did the damage.
In seconds, the Philadelphian was on the back foot and scrambling to escape having been rocked by a left jab. After surviving for a brief period, the back-pedaling Daukaus didn’t have the speed or bearings to avoid the next shot — a flush lead jab that sent him to a third consecutive knockout loss.
With such immense power, Rozenstruik’s continued presence towards the top of the division is a positive. While he’s struggled to let his hands go in some outings, it’s hard to imagine anyone surviving a clean shot from the 34-year-old KO artist.
“Bigi Boy” vs. “Bam Bam” in 2023 anyone?
Positive – Record-Breaker
- Youngest fighter signed to the UFC
- Youngest fighter to compete in the UFC
- Youngest fighter to win in the UFC
In UFC 282’s featured prelim, “El Niño Problema” debuted against Jay Perrin. Whilst “The Joker” promised to stall Rosas Jr.’s lofty ambitions, he was simply outmatched from the get-go, eventually falling to a rear-naked choke submission in round one after a prolonged period defending.
And a star was born…
Positive – Emphatic
Yep, Ilia Topuria is a bit good at fighting isn’t he?
“El Matador” has long gone under the radar as a legitimate future contender. I expected UFC 282 to mark his coming out party, but for it to be so dominant? Nope, didn’t see that coming.
From minute one, the Georgian-Spaniard pieced Mitchell up on the feet and used his low base to fend off the Arkansas native’s takedown attempts. Whilst “Thug Nasty” did enjoy some top position at the end of the opening frame, that success was to be short-lived.
In the second round, Topuria began to eat a few shots as he swung wildly. But rather than that being an ill-advised strategy, it appeared that he’d simply dismissed Mitchell as a threat on the feet and didn’t fear the grappling exchanges either.
The latter point proved to be for good reason.
After knocking Mitchell down, Topuria didn’t hesitate to follow him to the ground. A mistake, he heard you all cry? From there, “El Matador” pretty much rag-dolled “Thug Nasty” en route to an arm-triangle choke.
With that, the featherweight division has a new title contender. And what better way to mark his newfound notoriety than calling for Brian Ortega to head to Spain.
UFC Madrid? Let me get my sunglasses.
Negative – Till’s Decline Continues
It’s worth noting that nothing about Dricus du Plessis’ performance at UFC 282 was a negative. The South African continued his charge up the middleweight ladder with a fairly comfortable victory over a former welterweight title challenger.
However, given who it came against, the result certainly had more to it than just the arrival of a new contender in the top 10. It also further compounded the woes of Darren Till, who is now winless since 2019 and with just one victory in his last six outings.
When he arrived at 185 pounds by defeating Kelvin Gastelum and going the distance in a competitive headline clash with Robert Whittaker, it appeared that “The Gorilla” could be reinvented at the higher weight. But since his date with “The Reaper,” it’s all been downhill for the Liverpool native.
Aside from a solid second round on the feet at UFC 282, Till didn’t really come close to mustering anything noteworthy. In the first, he was battered against the fence, and in the third, he was submitted with what looked to be a neck crank.
Whether it’s a lack of confidence, some major grappling deficiencies, or all of the above, Till simply doesn’t look close to elite right now. And in an evening that’d already brought me and my compatriots England’s exit from the FIFA World Cup, Till’s defeat didn’t do much to boost our national spirit across the pond…
Negative – Questionable
Paddy Pimblett will be heading back to Liverpool with his UFC 0 in tact, but beyond his public demeanor and confidence, I imagine he’s feeling fortunate.
Did he do enough to win the fight? No, not for me.
Two of the three judges gave the first round to “The Baddy.” On first view, that baffles me. “Flash” consistently landed the harder shots throughout the frame, and there was little doubt in my mind who was up heading into the second.
While Pimblett hit back in the middle of the fight, the third round saw him offer little offense as he was controlled against the cage for much of the stanza. In fairness, Gordon also didn’t muster much effective offense late, but on my card, he was up 29-28.
So why was it that a Pimblett win still felt inevitable?
I’m hesitant to call ‘robbery’ in many instances. In this case, I’d offer that the fight was relatively close, but with one fighter appearing to have a clear edge. That man was not Pimblett.
Side note — Pimblett’s calls for Fight of the Night were unbelievably ambitious, and the entire post-fight interview somewhat came across as “The Baddy” looking to do damage control and bring the masses back on side.
Time will tell whether it worked.
Negative – Not Ideal…
Well then. That is not an ideal way for the UFC to close out its pay-per-view calendar for 2022…
I’ll be honest. At 6AM (GMT), my focus on the fight wasn’t 100%. However, my initial thought was that Dagestan should’ve have its first UFC light heavyweight champion, and the Polish representative appeared to think as much, too. But Magomed Ankalaev was denied by a 47-47 scorecard and one in favor of Jan B?achowicz, leading to a split draw.
While the decision will no doubt receive a wide array of takes and disagreements, it’s safe to say that the fight itself didn’t thrill or provide a great final PPV main event for the promotion this year.
Also, having had the title made vacant through injury, this was worst-case scenario for the division. With that, the initial question was who fights for the belt next? In the eyes of many, Ankalaev should be champion. Meanwhile, B?achowicz put forth the idea of a rematch. And elsewhere, Glover Teixeira is still owed a shot…
Well, within minutes, we had our answer. Mr. ‘I don’t make fights on the same night’ made a fight… on the night.
At the post-fight press conference, UFC President Dana White announced that Teixeira will challenge for the vacant title in Brazil next month. His foe? Jamahal Hill. Nothing says ‘legitimate championship’ like two completely different challengers competing for a vacant belt a month after two others fought to a draw for it.
No rewards for working out what White and the promotion made of B?achowicz and Ankalaev’s performances, and the Dagestani’s post-fight threat to leave.
The term ‘mess’ doesn’t even come close.
What were your positives and negatives from UFC 282?
Click here to view the article.
