UFC 282 results: Jan Błachowicz and Magomed Ankalaev fight to split draw

Blachowicz vs. Ankalaev is just the 5th draw in UFC championship history.

It joins Uno-Penn, Edgar-Maynard, Woodley-Thompson, and Figueiredo-Moreno.

— UFC (@ufc) December 11, 2022

Per Bruce Buffer's reading of scorecards, one judge scored the bout 48-46 for Ankalaev, another scored it 48-47 for Błachowicz and the last judge scored it 47-47 for the extremely rare split draw.

We shockingly have a split draw. We have no winner of the light heavyweight title.

A champion-esque response from the early rounds saw Magomed Ankalaev finish the round in five minutes of dominant ground position, leaving Jan Błachowicz disappointed on the ground. Judges scorecards incoming.

Błachowicz quickly finds himself back on the ground as Ankalaev goes back to work landing ground strikes and holding top position.

A much-needed strong round for Ankalaev may give him the edge on scorecards entering the final round. A round spent in top position also kept Ankalaev off his damaged legs.

Ankalaev continues to drain Błachowicz' stamina as a grapple exchange closes the fourth round.

The younger Ankalaev is looking more spry as he pinned the 39-year-old Błachowicz against the fence to limit his mobility, and then landed a takedown inside two minutes of the fourth.

We enter the championship rounds after Magomed Ankalaev scored a last-minute takedown after multiple failed attempts earlier in the fight. Might be enough to swing the scoring round towards Ankalaev, although Błachowicz is winning the eye test with the leg kicks.

Błachowicz now peppers Ankalaev's left leg with mean kicks, inciting an obvious limp from Ankalaev. The Russian fighter will struggle to generate much power in strikes or drive in his takedowns for the remainder of the fight.

Another pair of heavy leg kicks from Błachowicz at the very beginning of round three has forced Ankalaev to stay in orthodox stance.

Along with the stance switch, Ankalaev looks uncomfortable with putting heavy weight on his right leg. We'll see how this changes Ankalaev's strategy.

With just under two minutes to go in the second, Błachowicz landed a pair of leg kicks that clearly caught Ankalaev's attention and forced the Russian to switch stances.

Ankalaev scores a strong head kick in the first 30 seconds of the second round after his corner asked him to avoid getting into a brawl with Błachowicz.

Błachowicz and Ankalaev both spend the opening five minutes fighting contained. Ankalaev's striking appeared to open up with more smoothness in the closing minute, landing front kicks and beginning to utilize his range.

It may not be evident under Ankalaev's beard, but Błachowicz is landing with his left hook, leading to minor swelling under Ankalaev's left eye.

Both men clearly respect the other's power, and the title contenders have taken the first couple of minutes slowly. Counter hooks have landed but no combinations yet.