Blachowicz vs Pereira

Who won Blachowicz vs Pereira?

Alex Pereira beat Jan Blachowicz by split decision in their 3 round contest during the co-main event of UFC 291, on Saturday 29th July 2023 at Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City.

The scorecards were announced as 29-28, 29-28, 29-28 in favor of the winner Alex Pereira.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 3 rounds in the Light Heavyweight division, which meant the weight limit was 205 pounds (14.6 stone or 93 KG).

Blachowicz vs Pereira stats

Jan Blachowicz stepped into the octagon with a record of 29 wins, 9 losses and 0 draws, 9 of those wins coming by the way of knock out and 9 by submission.

Alex Pereira made his way to the cage with a record of 7 wins, 2 losses and 0 draws, 6 of those wins coming by knock out.

This was Jan Blachowicz's 21st fight in the UFC, having made his debut for the promotion in 2014. Alex Pereira marked his 11th fight for them, having made his own debut for the promotion in 2021.

Jan Blachowicz's UFC record stood at 12-8-1, while Alex Pereira's came in at 9-2-0.

The stats suggested Pereira had a massive power advantage over Blachowicz, boasting a 86% knock out percentage over Blachowicz's 31%.

If the fight went to the ground, their records suggested Blachowicz had a massive advantage over Pereira, boasting a 31% submission rate over Pereira's 0%.

Jan Blachowicz was the older man by 5 years, at 42 years old.

Pereira had a height advantage of 2 inches over Blachowicz. That also extended to a 2-inch reach advantage.

Blachowicz was the more experienced professional fighter, having had 29 more fights, and made his debut in 2007, 8 years and 7 months earlier than Pereira, whose first professional fight was in 2015. He had fought 61 more professional rounds, 98 to Pereira's 37.

Blachowicz vs Pereira form

Blachowicz had beaten 4 of his last 5 opponents, stopping 3 of them, going to the judges once.

In his last fight leading up to this contest, he had won against Aleksandar Rakic at UFC Fight Night: Błachowicz vs. Rakić on 14th May 2022 by knockout in the 3rd round at UFC APEX, Las Vegas, United States.

Previous to that, he had lost to Glover Teixeira at UFC 267 on 30th October 2021 by submission in the 2nd round in their UFC Light Heavyweight championship fight.

Going into that contest, he had beaten Israel Adesanya at UFC 259 on 6th March 2021 by unanimous decision in their UFC Light Heavyweight championship fight at UFC APEX, Las Vegas, United States.

Before that, he had defeated Dominick Reyes at UFC 253 on 26th September 2020 by knockout in the 2nd round in their UFC Light Heavyweight championship fight at UFC Fight Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

He was victorious against Corey Anderson at UFC on ESPN+ 25 on 15th February 2020 by knockout in the 1st round at Santa Ana Star Center, Rio Rancho, United States.

Pereira had beaten 4 of his last 5 opponents, stopping 3 of them, going the distance once.

In his last fight before this contest, he had been beaten by Israel Adesanya at UFC 287 on 8th April 2023 by knockout in the 2nd round in their UFC Middleweight championship fight at Miami-Dade Arena, Miami, United States.

Previous to that, he had won against Israel Adesanya at UFC 281 on 12th November 2022 by knockout in the 5th round in their UFC Middleweight championship fight at Madison Square Garden, New York City.

Going into that contest, he had beaten Sean Strickland at UFC 276 on 2nd July 2022 by knockout in the 1st round at T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas.

Before that, he had defeated Bruno Silva at UFC Fight Night on 12th March 2022 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at UFC APEX, Las Vegas.

He was victorious against Andreas Michailidis at UFC 268 on 6th November 2021 by knockout in the 2nd round at Madison Square Garden, New York City.

Activity check

In terms of activity leading into the fight, Alex Pereira had been fighting more than Jan Blachowicz.

Going to this contest, Jan Blachowicz had last fought 2 years, 10 months and 17 days ago, while Alex Pereira's last outing had been 1 year, 11 months and 23 days ago.

Blachowicz's last 5 fights had come over a period of 5 years, 1 month and 16 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 1 year and 9 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 13 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 2.6 rounds on average.

Pereira's last 5 fights had come over a period of 3 years, 4 months and 25 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 8 months and 5 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 13 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 2.6 rounds on average.

What were the odds on Blachowicz vs Pereira?

Jan Blachowicz was a 91/100 (-110) underdog going into the contest, while Alex Pereira made his way into the ring at 91/100 (-110) with oddsmakers.