Jan Blachowicz vs Alex Pereira UFC 291 Salt Lake City Utah Fight Video Full HD Free Stream Replay Part A

In the co-main event of UFC 291, Jan Blachowicz and Alex Pereira square off in a fascinating light heavyweight match.

Pereira recently lost his middleweight championship to Israel Adesanya in a rematch, so he has made the decision to move up to the next division after taking his body off the drastic cuts to 185 pounds.

Pereira has previously competed in this weight class as a kickboxer, but this will be his first MMA match against the 205-pound waters.

On the other hand, fellow ex-champion Blachowicz has some experience dealing with fighters from the weight class below him.

A victory here could put Blachowicz back in the UFC title picture, even though the former light heavyweight titleholder may be coming off of a strange draw with Magomed Ankalaev.

Even though this fight initially screams striker vs. grappler, I caution anyone who is ignoring Blachowicz's well-rounded game.

Blachowicz entered the UFC as a consistent stalker with some amateur muay Thai experience, but he quickly developed into one of the division's top counter strikers.

Blachowicz is adaptable with his foot approaches, whether he is hitting uppercut-hook returns off the backfoot or switching to southpaw to fend off opposition with kicks.

One of the few fighters north of middleweight who can check kicks is Blachowicz, a skill that will probably be useful in comparison to his opponent.

However, the key question in this fight will be Blachowicz's grappling.

Blachowicz, a 40-year-old Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt who has really worked on his wrestling since moving his training camps back to Warsaw, hasn't approached his grappling as offensively in recent years.

It might be a long night for the Brazilian fighter if Blachowicz decides to start his grappling early or unless Pereira arrives too hot.

When it comes to ground fighting, Pereira, a martial artist who spent the majority of his combat sports career striking, still stands to gain much.

For Pereira's benefit, Glover Teixeira, the person who adopted the title from Blachowicz, is his mentor.

Teixeira has since retired from MMA, but he has fully embraced his position as Pereira's coach and mentor.

In fact, Pereira has demonstrated some useful applications of underhooks and overloads in the UFC, enforcing separations with strong fundamentals.

We'll probably get to see Pereira's striking prowess in action if he has room to operate this Saturday.

Pereira presents a special foot problem due to his size and abilities, from thudding jabs and leg kicks to crushing counter hooks.