AUSTIN, TEXAS: So far, UFC 291 has met expectations on every level. The battle between Alex Pereira and Jan Blachowicz was one that fans were eagerly anticipating on a night that included several extremely intriguing fights. In his light heavyweight debut, Pereira more than lived up to expectations.
At UFC 287, Pereira was defeated by Israel Adesanya, and he chose to move up to light heavyweight. Jamahal Hill, the LHW champion, recently opted to give up the championship due to an injury, as fate would have it. Thus, with probable title implications at stake, the duel with Blachowicz became considerably more crucial.
‘That left leg is disgusting’
Pereira appeared to be a man on a mission that night, putting as many powerful blows as he could on the immensely tough Blachowicz. Poatan mostly concentrated on leg kicks, trying to keep Jan as still as possible. Joe Rogan, who was there for today's card, had a similar observation.
“That left leg (Jan’s) is disgusting,” Rogan said.
Large welts developed on Jan's lead left leg as a result of Pereira's persistent kicks over time. In rounds 2 and 3, Pereira increased the pressure even further, increasing his substantial strike total to 70 compared to the Polishman's 52.
Furthermore, Jan's nose was severely injured by Pereira's blows. Pereira was given the win by a split decision despite the former light heavyweight champion's prolonged ground domination of more than 7 minutes.
‘My focus is always the belt’
Despite the battle not going as many had hoped, Alex will undoubtedly be happy with the outcome. Instead of the all-out brawl that the spectators had anticipated, Blachowicz tried to choke Pereira for three rounds. Blachowicz attempted to mimic his performance against Adesanya when facing Pereira.
Pereira, particularly with Glover Teixeira in his corner, seems prepared, though. Despite losing ground control and being knocked to the ground three times, Pereira did well to thwart Jan's efforts at a submission. Pereira also made sure to demonstrate the advancements in his own ground game at the same time.
Alex stated in the post-fight interview that he will continue to grow significantly going forward. Additionally, Alex provided a small indication as to what would come next for him.
“My focus is always the belt. We had a conversation with the organization about the belt, and now I just want to fight for the belt. Doesn’t matter against who,” he said.
