Close! Alex Pereira beats Jan Blachowicz, wins 205 lb debut – UFC 291 results, play-by-play analysis

UFC 291 is tonight!

Polish Power meets Potatan tonight in the co-main event of the stacked UFC 291 card. Jan Blachowicz and Alex Pereira both smell a title shot in the UFC light heavyweight division and both will be eager to KO the other and take a big step towards that vacant belt.

Blachowicz comes into this one off his bore-draw with Magomed Ankalaev, which saw him fail to clinch the vacant belt. He won the belt back in 2021 after beating Glover Teixeira. After defending the title to Israel Adesanya, he lost it to Jiri Prochazka.

Pereira is debuting in the UFC’s 205 lb division and is coming off a loss to his nemesis Adesanya. Pereira famously took the UFC middleweight title off The Last StyleBender last year. However, he lost the belt in an immediate rematch.

UFC 291 Live Stream Video

Watch Jan Blachowicz vs. Alex Pereira, and the rest of the card, below in the UFC’s official YouTube stream.

Jan Blachowicz vs. Alex Pereira play-by-play

Round 1

Periera immediately gets a headlock on Blachowicz off a failed takedown attempt. Big Jan attacks the legs then manages to break Alex’s grip, then gets him down. Jan is riding Pereira’s back with a rear-naked-choke sunk in. Pereira fought it and freed himself but Blachowicz is still on his back. Alex is up to one knee now, fighting Jan’s hands to keep him from sneaking in another sub attempt.

Jan is resting atop Poatan and the crowd is booing the inactive position. Blachowicz is working hard to get him all the way down. Jan succeeded and is now trying to flatten him out. Pereira sprawls and prevents. Alex is defending well but supporting all Jan’s weight. 10-9 Blachowicz.

Round 2

The men start their exchange in the center trading shots. Blachowicz immediately targets Poatan’s legs with low kicks. Pereira looks gigantic in there. Alex gets in a low kick of his own and now they’re trading in the center again. Blachowicz changes levels and gets Poatan down easily.

Pereira lands a few from the bottom while Jan tries to posture up to land. Alex works up to a sitting position against the cage. Pereira regains his footing but Jan is controlling him against the cage. Alex spins out and lands a gnarly head kick, then a body shot. Jan shoots but misses. Poatan has him against the cage now, throwing knees up the middle. Blachowicz is bleeding from a cut on his eyebrow. Poatan is teeing off on him against the cage and Jan looks totally exhausted. 10-9 Pereira

Round 3

Poatan lands a high kick then a shot to the solar plexus. He’s landing high kicks at will and is barely breathing hard. Blachowicz lands a three-punch combo. Pereira is walking him down but Big Jan returns fire with another combo that lands. Alex is tagging him almost every time he throws, but Jan is constantly working on tenderizing his legs.

Both men land hard shots and Blachowicz attempts a takedown but Poatan stuffs it. Jan breathing heavy out of his mouth and bleeding freely from the cut. Both men land but Alex clearly stunned Jan with his shot. Jan’s arms look like he’s lifting lead now. Poatan is still crisp, throwing a piston jab. Jan gets the takedown and is missing with all his shots. 10 second warning. Round ends. 10-9 Pereira

Official decision

Alex Pereira defeates Jan Blachowicz via split-decision: 29-28×2, 28-29

More results and highlights

After this fight we have Dustin Poirier vs. Justin Gaethje 2 for the BMF belt. Go here to check out how you can follow everything that happens at UFC 291.

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Stephie Haynes

Stephie Haynes has been covering MMA since 2005. She has also worked for MMA promotion Proelite and apparel brand TapouT. She hosted TapouT’s official radio show for four years before joining Bloody Elbow in 2012. She has interviewed everyone there is to interview in the fight game from from Dana White to Conor McGregor to Kimbo Slice, as well as mainstream TV, film and music stars including Norman Reedus, RZA and Anthony Bourdain. She has been producing the BE podcast network since 2017 and hosts four of its current shows.

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