Magomed Ankalaev is the new UFC light heavyweight champion after defeating Alex Pereira by unanimous decision in the UFC 313 main event on Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
The judges scored the fight 49-46, 48-47, and 48-47 in Ankalaev’s favour. By doing so, Ankalaev has become just the 2nd fighter in UFC to defeat Alex Pereira, after Israel Adesanya.Â
The fight remained competitive throughout. Pereira started strong with a tactical opening round, but Ankalaev responded in Round 2, landing multiple left hands before rocking Pereira with a powerful shot in the final 10 seconds.
Pereira recovered between rounds and remained dangerous, with Round 3 being one of the closest of the fight. Ankalaev controlled the pace, while Pereira relied on counterstriking while retreating.
Round 4 saw Ankalaev slow the fight down with clinch work against the cage, while Round 5 was a tactical striking battle, with both fighters having their moments.
When the final horn sounded, Ankalaev (21-1-1 MMA, 12-1-1 UFC) secured the victory, extending his unbeaten streak to 14 fights since his UFC debut loss to Paul Craig.
Pereira (12-3 MMA, 9-2 UFC) saw his five-fight winning streak snapped and suffered his first defeat at light heavyweight.
After the fight, Pereira vowed to return for an immediate rematch against Ankalaev.