Former UFC middleweight champion Alex Pereira will move up to the light heavyweight division to battle former 205-pound kingpin Jan Blachowicz in the UFC 291 pay-per-view (PPV) co-main event TONIGHT (Sat., July 29, 2023) at Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.
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“For me, stylistically, it’s an exciting matchup,” reigning UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya said on his YouTube channel. “These are two guys that I fought, two guys that have both beat me. It’s interesting to see how that matchup will play into each other. Also, there’s different elements, as well — the grappling element, and Jan might just try and do that early on and take away his power, his chances of striking, and wear him down. I think in a three-round fight, I think it’ll be on the feet. Jan’s definitely going to try to take him down. He’s not stupid.”
“I think Alex hits harder,” Adesanya continued. “It’s the way he throws, the technique he throws with, the technique — he grounds himself. He’s not running. He’s not moving and throwing. He sits when he gets you where he wants you, especially against the fence. He’ll sit there and throw. That’s how he’s able to hit harder. Jan can definitely learn how to hit harder, but hey, if Jan gets him down, I think he’s just going to control him there for three rounds. Official pick: I’m going to go Alex by knockout.”
We’ll find out later tonight!
MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 291 fight card right RIGHT HERE, starting with the early ESPN+ “Prelims” matches at 6:30 p.m. ET, followed by the remaining undercard balance on ESPN/ESPN+/ABC at 8 p.m. ET, before the PPV main card start time at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV.
To check out the latest and greatest UFC 291: “Poirier vs. Gaethje 2” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here. For the updated and finalized UFC 291 fight card and ESPN+ lineup click here.