Jan Blachowicz absorbed a lot of damage but ultimately scored a late knockdown that allowed him to go to a majority draw with Bogdan Guskov in the opening bout on the UFC 323 main card Saturday night.
It was a back and forth battle throughout but Guskov nearly scored a finish with a brutal knockdown in the second round, which likely led to 10-8 scores from two judges. Blachowicz came storming back in the final five minutes, dropping Guskov with a punch just before time expired and that made all the difference in the decision.
The final scorecards read 29-28 for Blachowicz with the other two judges handing down the same 28-28 scores for the majority draw.
Some early calf kicks from Blachowicz set the pace early with Guskov being wary not to overextend himself against the powerful former light heavyweight champion. Guskov finally connected with a slick straight punch midway through the opening round as he landed flush on Blachowicz’s chin.
Blachowicz fired back with a jab of his own as he kept pressing forward and forcing Guskov to fight off his back foot. With less than 30 seconds remaining, Guskov finally rushed ahead with a flurry of punches but didn’t land much with Blachowicz still chipping away at him from the outside.
With Blachowicz still concentrating on the calf kicks, Guskov fired a perfectly timed straight punch that landed clean for a crucial knockdown. Guskov followed him to the ground where he continued his assault, although Blachowicz recovered enough to play defense to avoid taking much more damage.
Guskov kept applying pressure, peppering away with punches and some nasty elbows that eventually opened a cut on Blachowicz’s head. The punishment continued with Blachowicz just stuck on the ground with no real hope for escape.
The horn finally saved Blachowicz but he was down heading into the final round.
Guskov opened with another stiff jab that snapped Blachowicz’s head back and he continued to show a definitive speed advantage in almost every exchange. That said, Guskov’s movement was definitely affected by the damage inflicted on his lead leg and Blachowicz took notice.
That led to Blachowicz marching forward, trying to push the pace and Guskov was constantly backing up without offering much offense. Just before time ran out, Blachowicz unleashed a barrage that saw Guskov fall to the canvas as the fight came to a close.
With such a dominant second round, Guskov nearly got a finish but instead he goes home with a majority draw while Blachowicz earns his second draw in his past four fights with his last win coming back in 2022.
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