The UFC light heavyweight title remained vacant at the conclusion of UFC 282 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
It comes after the title bout between Jan Blachowicz and Magomed Ankalaev was ruled a split draw. However, Ankalaev protested that he should’ve been crowned the new champion – a sentiment that Blachowicz surprisingly got behind.
At the end of the contest, the judges scored it 48-46 Ankalaev, 48-47 Blachowicz, and 47-47. The belt became vacant last month when champion Jiri Prochazka vacated it after suffering a serious shoulder injury that could keep him out for up to a year.
In the co-main event, Paddy ‘The Baddy’ Pimblett kept his unbeaten UFC record intact after securing a unanimous decision over Jared Gordon. The judges had Pimblett winning 29-28 on all scorecards.
However, his win came with some controversy, with many believing that Gordon should’ve had his hand raised.
Santiago Ponzinibbio captured his second victory in a row with an emphatic third-round TKO over Alex Morono. ‘The Argentine Dagger’ improved to 29-6 with the stoppage win.
In the welterweight division, fan favorite Darren Till’s long-awaited return was spoiled by Dricus du Plessis. Till was able to weather a near-stoppage in the first round but ultimately succumbed to a rear-naked choke in round three.
The main card kicked off with a showdown between featherweight prospects Bryce Mitchell and Ilia Tuporia. The Georgian fighter shocked the MMA world when he finished Mitchell in round two via an arm triangle.
UFC 282 full-card results
Main card
Magomed Ankalaev vs. Jan Blachowicz ruled split draw
Paddy Pimblett def. Jared Gordon via UD
Santiago Ponzinibbio def. Alex Morono via third-round TKO (2:29)
Dricus Du Plessis def. Darren Till via sub (RNC) (R3, 2:43)
Ilia Topuria def. Bryce Mitchell via sub (arm triangle) (R2, 3:10)
Preliminary Card
Raul Rosas Jr. def. Jay Perrin via sub (RNC) (R1, 2:44)
Jairzinho Rozenstruik def. Chris Daukaus via 1st-round KO (0:23)
Edmen Shahbazyan def. Dalcha Lungiambula via 2nd-round TKO (4:41)
Chris Curtis def. Joaquin Buckley via second-round KO (2:49)
Billy Quarantillo def. Alexander Hernandez via 2nd-round TKO (4:30)
T.J. Brown def. Erik Silva via sub (head/arm choke) (R3, 3:41)
Cameron Saaiman def. Steven Koslow via third-round TKO (4:13)