Former UFC middleweight champion Alex Pereira scored a split-decision win over Jan Blachowicz in his 205-pound debut earlier tonight (Sat., July 29, 2023) at UFC 291 live on ESPN+ PPV from inside Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah, but did “Poatan” really do enough to earn the nod over Blachowicz?
Blachowicz did good in the early going to pin Pereira up against the cage and tire him with grappling. That was before the former UFC light heavyweight king dragged Pereira to the ground a few times for some solid control time. Pereira needed to show more in the second and third frames.
Luckily for Pereira, he was able to stay on his feet more often and it allowed him to start landing some solid strikes on Blachowicz. The second round was pretty close, but it seemed that Pereira did enough to even the score entering the final frame.
In the third, Pereira scored more strikes on the feet as a tired Blachowicz plodded forward. Pereira did give up a late takedown to Blachowicz, but it wasn’t nearly enough for the former UFC champion to steal the round. In the end, it was Pereira who walked away with the split-decision win.
Check out the official Pereira vs. Blachowicz scorecard below:
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What do you think? Legit win for Pereira or did Blachowicz get hosed?
Sound off?
For complete UFC 291 results, coverage, and highlights click HERE.