Magomed Ankalaev dethrones Alex Pereira to become the UFC light heavyweight champion

Magomed Ankalaev dethrones Alex Pereira to become the UFC light heavyweight champion

Magomed Ankalaev lands stunning upset with a unanimous decision to take Alex Pereira’s undisputed light heavyweight belt at UFC313 on Saturday night. All three judges scored in favour of Ankalaev; the 32-year-old triumphs 48-47 48-47 49-46 on the judges’ scorecard

Magomed Ankalaev earned the biggest win of his UFC career, dethroning Alex Pereira to claim the UFC light heavyweight title during UFC 313 in Las Vegas on Saturday.

Russia’s Ankalaev (21-1-1), unbeaten since March 2018, outwitted former kickboxing champion Pereira on the feet with forward pressure and tight knees to the body, and left the Brazilian exhausted after pinning him to the fence and forcing him to grapple.

“I can’t even put it into words. It has been such a long wait. Here’s my dream and it’s on my waist,” Ankalaev said after finally winning the championship belt, having fought Jan Blachowicz to a split draw in his first UFC title bout in December 2022.

Pereira (12-2), who won his last four fights by knockout, repeatedly kicked Ankalaev’s lead leg early on in the fight. But Ankalaev fought back in the second round, landing a left hand and leaving Pereira on shaky legs just seconds before the bell.

Ankalaev kept up the pressure in the next round, landing knees from close range as Pereira fought off his takedown attempts. The superior grappling of Ankalaev helped him pin Pereira to the fence and drain his energy in the fourth round.

As Pereira’s coaches urged him to fight back, he marched Ankalaev down in the final round and landed a head kick. But it was not enough to sway the judges as the former middleweight champion suffered the third loss of his professional mixed martial arts career.

“The plan was to pressure, pressure, pressure. Everyone who fights him tries to counter him, but I wanted to make sure I fight as the number one,” Ankalaev said.

Pereira said he knew he would face a battle, but Ankalaev did not do much damage to him.

“I knew it would be a war. He put some pressure on in the second round, but putting me up against the cage, he didn’t really do anything,” said Pereira.

“I’m going to keep training. I feel good, I don’t think I’m hurt or anything. I’ll take a few days off and get back into it, this is my life.”