Magomed Ankalaev did not beat the Pole – Sport – Kommersant

Russian fighter Magomed Ankalaev failed to win the vacant UFC title, the main promotion in mixed martial arts (MMA). His fight for the vacant title of the strongest light heavyweight (up to 93 kg) against the Pole Jan Blachowicz, in which Ankalaev, having mediocrely spent the first rounds, gave out a shock ending, ended in a draw. Now the Russian will apparently have to wait quite a long time for the next chance to compete in the championship match. The UFC has already announced that it has appointed a new fight for the still unowned title between Brazilian veteran Glover Teixeira and American Jamal Hill.

The fight, which took place at the prestigious T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, was the central event of the UFC 282 tournament and did not even disappoint, but, it seems, terribly angered the head of the promotion, Dana White. After its completion, he devoted a whole speech to its results, and this was by no means a praise for the participants in the match. On the contrary, White, in fact, set him up as an example of how not to fight when the championship title is at stake, repeatedly, not at all embarrassed by a bunch of TV cameras, allowing himself very strong expressions.

And he really could understand. The duel did not really live up to the expectations associated with it. There were two, in principle, very spectacular fighters. Jan Blachowicz trumped up with a chic list of all sorts of achievements obtained over a long career, Magomed Ankalaev, an already established star, with nine victories in a row, and mostly with spectacular victories. And the championship fight was a gift for them from the UFC and Czech Jiri Prochazka, who held the title of the best light heavyweight. Prochazka, having received a serious shoulder injury, acted surprisingly honestly in November, without delaying the refusal of the title, and the promotion turned the Candidates match between Blachowicz and Ankalaev into a title match, hoping that the fighters would justify the trust. But Dana White made it clear that he was hoping for something completely different.

The fight really turned out to be a bit routine, or something. There were few events for highlights in it, as well as risks from both athletes.

The first two rounds turned out to be boring in general and were remembered only by good low kicks performed by Blachowicz, who tapped Anakalaev’s shins with them so decently that he even forced him to change his stance.

It was not difficult to guess what would anger viewers the most, including viewers who make the most important decisions in the UFC. Apparently, feeling that he had created a margin of safety for himself, Jan Blachowicz suddenly switched to the mode of holding it. At the same time, Magomed Ankalaev for some time was in no hurry to attack in order to achieve a turning point, as if everything suited him. It was only in the fourth round that Ankalaev remembered that his strong point was, whatever one may say, not boxing, but wrestling, and in the fifth and final round, thanks to his wrestling skills, he already dominated. However, it cannot be said that his opponent was in a situation where defeat is right there, very close.

The most interesting thing in this fight came down to the announcement of the score on the judges’ cards. Here the intrigue burned with a scarlet flame. The statistics were in favor of Ankalaev. He more than doubled Blachowicz in terms of the number of thrown punches – 182 versus 79. He controlled the position on the ground for 11 minutes, while the Pole had zero control. Ankalaev also had two takedowns, while Blachowicz had none.

But the principle of refereeing in mixed martial arts is the same as in boxing – it is not the overall statistics that matters, but the number of successful and unsuccessful rounds. And everything was incomprehensible to him. As a result, one referee, Mike Bell, gave the win to Blachowicz – 48:47, the other, Derek Cleary, to Ankalaev – 48:46, and on the Sal D’Amato card there was a draw – 47:47. Moreover, Ankalaev was also lucky that Cleary and D’Amato in the final round recorded not an ordinary, with a difference of one point, but an overwhelming – 10:8 – superiority of the Russian. Otherwise, despite good statistics, he would have completely lost by a split decision.

And the competition in self-criticism after the battle was convincingly won by Jan Blachowicz.

Magomed Ankalaev was surprised why he did not receive a championship belt after a match that, from his point of view, was clearly won. But the Pole struck with frankness, saying that he did not feel like a winner, and even performed some kind of movement, similar to an attempt to raise his opponent’s hand.

At this time, Dana White and her assistants, according to the head of the UFC, were frantically thinking about what to do with the champion title, since it remained unplayed and since both contenders for it performed so inexpressively. And suddenly the idea matured, and “after a few phone calls” took shape in a contract. The UFC, having actually deprived Blachowicz and Ankalaev of the candidate status, endowed them with the 43-year-old Brazilian veteran Glover Teixeira, who parted with the title in June, having been defeated by Jiri Prochazka in an exciting duel, and having only one misfire in the biography of the American Jamal Hill. They will fight for the title.

Alexey Dospekhov