Jan Blachowicz and Magomed Ankalaev will throw down in a pivotal light heavyweight clash.
Former champion Blachowicz (29-9 MMA, 12-6 UFC) meets Ankalaev (18-1 MMA, 9-1 UFC) at UFC 282 on Dec. 10 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
A person with knowledge of the matchup confirmed the booking to MMA Junkie but asked to remain anonymous because the promotion has yet to make an official announcement. ESPN was the first to report the news.
Since losing the light heavyweight title to Glover Teixeira at UFC 267 in October 2021, Blachowicz rebounded with a TKO win over Aleksandar Rakic at UFC on ESPN 36 in May. After splitting the first two rounds, Rakic buckled his knee in Round 3 and the fight was waved off, which gave Blachowicz the TKO win.
Ankalaev will look to earn a title shot after winning nine straight bouts. The Dagestani fighter is coming off back-to-back wins over former title challengers Thiago Santos and, most recently, a TKO over Anthony Smith at UFC 277 in July.
With the addition, the UFC 282 lineup includes:
- Robbie Lawler vs. Santiago Ponzinibbio
- Dricus Du Plessis vs. Darren Till
- Chris Daukaus vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik
- Joaquin Buckley vs. Chris Curtis
- Dalcha Lungiambula vs. Edmen Shahbazyan
- Alexander Hernandez vs. Billy Quarantillo
- TJ Brown vs. Erik Silva
- Vinicius Salvador vs. Daniel da Silva
- Bo Nickal vs. Jamie Pickett
- Ronnie Lawrence vs. Cameron Saaiman
- Magomed Ankalaev vs. Jan Blachowicz
