Jan Blachowicz claims robbery after loss to Alex Pereira at UFC 291: ‘Bunch of thieves, they robbed me’
Former UFC light-heavyweight champion, Jan Blachowicz reacts to his loss to Alex Pereira last night at UFC 291.
In a fight to determine who will face Jiri Prochazka for the now vacant light-heavyweight title, Pereira and Blachowicz would do battle over a competitive three rounds. The pair both entered the contest hungry to regain UFC gold, knowing it was just within arm’s length.
Pereira entered the contest just three months after dropping this middleweight title to Israel Adesanya via a dramatic KO. The Brazilian elected to move up in weight to 205lb and was immediately matched with the No.3 ranked Pole.
Blachowicz came in looking to bonce back from a disappoint last outing against Magomed Ankalaev last December. The fight, which was for the vacant light-heavyweight title would end in a draw after a lacklustre affair.
Jan Blachowicz Vs. Alex Pereira decision
After showing a variability, Blachowicz was expected to test Pereira’s grappling and the 40-year-old wasted no time in doing so. Quickly looking for the single leg, Blachowicz fought through Pereira’s guillotine attempt to land a takedown. From there, Blachowicz would threaten submissions and control ‘Poatan’ for the remainder of the first round.
However, Pereira would bounce back by fending off Blachowicz’s attempts to grapple while showing off his elite striking. Pereira enjoyed the striking success in the second and third, although Blachowicz was certainly not outclassed in this department, did sustain serious damage his leg.
Blachowicz did end up on top in the final round but did not land any particularly damaging shots. At the end of the contest, the score cards read 29-28, 28-29, 29-28 in favour of Pereira via split decision.
Online opinion seems to be split, with a considerable amount of people awarding it to Blachowicz. Posting to his Instagram, he would react to the score cards – claiming robbery.
“Bunch of thieves, they robbed me. Anyway, thank you all for your support. I’ll be back,” said Jan Blachowicz.
Who do you think won, Jan Blachowicz or Alex Pereira?
