A pair of big matchups at light heavyweight has joined UFC’s December 10th pay-per-view event.
Both bookings are expected to take place at UFC 282, which will go down at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.
Former Champion Blachowicz To Face Ankalaev
Magomed Ankalaev could potentially secure a title shot in his next appearance, facing former champion Jan Blachowicz as part of the last PPV event of 2022.
News of the possible title eliminator fight was first reported by Brett Okamoto of ESPN.
Ankalaev has slowly worked his way up the light heavyweight standings and is now one of the highest-ranked names in the division. He has picked up nine consecutive victories since 2018, with more than half of those wins coming via finish.
Ankalaev won his first-ever UFC main event appearance earlier this year, going five rounds against Thiago Santos for a decision win. His most recent win came in July when he stopped veteran Anthony Smith.
Blachowicz returned to the win column in his last appearance, as a leg injury took opponent Aleksandar Rakic out of their five-round bout in the third frame.
Blachowicz lost the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship last year, suffering a second-round submission loss to Glover Teixeira.
Veterans Gustafsson, St. Preux Paired Up
Experience will be the name of the game when 205-pound fighters Alexander Gustafsson and Ovince St. Preux meet. The veteran matchup was first reported by Nolan King and Farah Hannoun of MMA Junkie.
Gustafsson and St. Preux have a combined 43 UFC appearances between them. They have both struggled more in recent years, with Gustafsson, in particular, aiming to snap an extensive losing streak.
Gustafsson enters this contest looking for his first win since 2017. He has taken four consecutive finish losses in recent years – during that time he also retired briefly and tested out competing at heavyweight.
Gustafsson’s last fight was in July when Nikita Krylov stopped him in just over a minute with punches.
St. Preux snapped a two-fight skid in his last appearance, beating Mauricio Rua via split decision in May. The 39-year-old MMA vet was finished in his two prior appearances.
Updated Lineup
Bout 12: Santiago Ponzinibbio (28-6) vs. Robbie Lawler (29-16) (Welterweight)
Bout 11: Darren Till (18-4-1) vs. Dricus Du Plessis (17-2) (Middleweight)
Bout 10: Jairzinho Rozenstruick (12-4) vs. Chris Daukaus (12-5) (Heavyweight)
Bout 9: Chris Curtis (29-9) vs. Joaquin Buckley (15-5) (Middleweight)
Bout 8: Magomed Ankalaev (18-1) vs. Jan Blachowicz (29-9) (Light Heavyweight)
Bout 7: Edmen Shahbazyan (11-3) vs. Dalcha Lungiambula (11-5) (Middleweight)
Bout 6: Billy Quarantillo (16-4) vs. Alexander Hernandez (13-5) (Featherweight)
Bout 5: Erik Silva (9-1) vs. TJ Brown (16-9) (Featherweight)
Bout 4: Daniel da Silva (11-4) vs. Vinicius Salvador (14-4) (Flyweight)
Bout 3: Jamie Pickett (13-8) vs. Bo Nickal (3-0) (Middleweight)
Bout 2: Ronnie Lawrence (8-2) vs. Cameron Saaiman (6-0) (Bantamweight)
Bout 1: Ovince St. Preux (26-16) vs. Alexander Gustafsson (18-8) (Light Heavyweight)
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