UFC 291: Blachowicz vs Pereira – Chaos and Carnage Coming!
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Keelin McNamara
IT'S FIGHT DAY! UFC 291 is officially upon us, coming to you live from Salt Lake City, Utah. With a card that features a BMF title fight that also happens to be a rematch of one of the best fights in recent years between Dustin “The Diamond” Poirier and Justin “The Highlight” Gaethje, and also the small matter of an epic fan favourite fight between Tony “El Cucuy” Ferguson” and Bobby “King” Green, this is a card that is not to be missed.
Here, though, we are covering a massive co-main event featuring the light heavyweight debut of Alex “Poatan” Pereira, who is welcomed to the division by the formidable Jan Blachowicz. Read on to find our prediction below!
Jan Blachowicz: Man on a Mission
Jan Blachowicz is a man with something to prove.
Following his last outing (a split decision draw with Magomed Ankalaev in December of last year), Blachowicz has been very vocal about wanting to get another shot in the octagon in order to get back on track. Most recently, he has been extremely vocal about wanting a fight against (technically) “former” light heavyweight champion Jiri Prochazka, a fight that he believes would be “the biggest in Europe's history”. He has also called for a fight against the current light heavyweight champion Jamahal “Sweet Dreams” Hill, though that has yet to come to fruition.
Jan Blachowicz possesses outrageous knockout power, and he will be hoping he can conjure it again at UFC 291. (Image Credit: The Athletic)
Ultimately though, Blachowicz has got his wish at UFC 291 – and he has been given the unenviable task of welcoming Alex “Poatan” Pereira to the light heavyweight division, a fight that is sure to prove to be one of the best in the division in recent years. There's little doubt that a win over such a huge name in Pereira would infinitely boost Blachowicz' hopes for another title shot. Whether he can do that or not remains to be seen…
Alex Pereira: Spectre Spreads to Light Heavyweight
Very few people cast as large a shadow literally as they do metaphorically – Alex Pereira is one of those people.
The former middleweight champion has been touted for a while now to make the move up to 205 pounds, and he has finally made that move for UFC 291. And somehow, he still looks huge for the division. Many have predicted that Alex Pereira could well become the next two weight world champion in the UFC should he be able to get past Blachowicz, and he will be eager to prove that that is very much the case. Aside from his loss to Israel Adesanya in his last outing, recent form has been on Pereira's side, so it will be extremely interesting to see if he can get the job done at UFC 291.
Before we get into each fighter's path to victory in this fight, it should be noted that this is a near dead even fight in terms of betting odds. Official UFC betting odds have Blachowicz at -120 and Pereira at -110, so this fight really is as close as it gets.
Jan Blachowicz: Path to Victory – Polish Power
Jan Blachowicz has a very common path to victory in nearly all of his fights – violently knocking people out.
I mean, they don't call him “Polish Power” for no reason. Blachowicz has a devastating trigger finger, and he knows just when to release it. Just ask any of the people that have fallen victim to his hands. Realistically, the path to victory for Blachowicz (in theory) is very simple – he's likely going to try to keep the fight standing in order to try and knock Alex Pereira out. He will have been given confidence by the fact that Israel Adesanya did it, no question. He will know that his power at 205 is more than capable of knocking “Poatan” out if given the chance to do so.
In short – do not overlook Jan Blachowicz in this fight. Alex Pereira may be many people's favourite going in to this fight, but Blachowicz is a shark in the waters of the light heavyweight division, and he has the power to back it up.
Alex Pereira: Path to Victory – Hands of Stone
What makes the co-main event of UFC 291 so interesting is that both men are likely approaching this fight with the same game plan in mind.
I mean, everyone has seen what Alex Pereira can do. He has some of the most devastating highlights of any kickboxer in recent memory, and his UFC finishes have been absolutely sensational. Even with his ground weaknesses (which he has been working on with UFC legend Glover Teixeira), Pereira is still such an ominous prospect for anyone unfortunate enough to be standing across from him.
It's fair to say that Alex Pereira's nickname of “Hands of Stone” is more than well earned. (Image Credit: MMAMania.com)
For those who don't know, “Poatan” roughly translates from Portuguese to “Hands of Stone” (Roberto Duran, anyone?). I don't know that a nickname has ever suited a fighter more. Pereira is absolutely terrifying. His knockout of Sean Strickland left him for dead for about five minutes. When he teed off against Israel Adesanya, the damage those shots did was unreal. If Alex Pereira's left hand connects with you, you disconnect from consciousness; and that's the gameplan for Pereira in a nutshell.
So, Who Wins at UFC 291?
Truthfully, this is such a close fight.
Jan Blachowicz has proven that his power can blow people away – and it does. He is a force to be reckoned with on the feet, but has shown weaknesses on the ground. And exactly the same thing can be said for Alex Pereira. Pereira is one of the most dangerous fighters I have ever seen, and he constantly looms with the dangerous threat of detonation.
So, what does this mean for who wins the fight? In short, I don't actually know for sure. The only predictions I can make is that this fight will not last long, and whoever connects with power first probably knocks out the other. I'm giving the slight edge to “Poatan” in this regard – his utterly ruthless killer instinct means that he can just detonate at any possible moment, even under fire. I think Blachowicz will fight very well, but I see him overextending and getting caught flush with that left hand. And Alex Pereira is in the frame to fight for his second world title.
Ultimately, I think that Alex Pereira will have too much for Jan Blachowicz early on, and I think he will pick up another violent, trademark knockout. (Image Credit: BBC)
Official prediction – Alex Pereira to win via first round KO.
[Scratches record] Yeah, that's me. You're probably wondering how I ended up here...or not. My name's Keelin McNamara, and I am an AVID combat sports fan. Always have been, and probably always will be. I started writing and podcasting about MMA in the Summer of 2020 (yeah, we don't talk about that here either). I've been doing it ever since, and have loved every single minute of it! Thanks for checking out whatever it is you're reading - I hope you enjoy it!