The UFC 313 main card was one of the most anticipated battles of the year. Exceeding all the expectations of fans and critics, Magomed Ankalaev emerges as the new UFC light heavyweight champion. A neck-to-neck battle between Ankalaev and the former light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira, it was an unanimous decision in the favor of the Russian fighter (49-46, 48-47, and 48-47). With his, Ankalaev becomes the third fighter from Dagestan, after Khabib Nurmagomedov and Islam Makhachev, to secure a championship in the UFC.
Magomed Ankalaev becomes the third fighter from Dagestan to win an UFC championship
The first round of the match saw the Brazilian fighter land multiple leg kicks, which went on to affect the former Russian wrestler. While Ankalaev tried to bring the fight down to the ground on multiple occasions through his takedowns, Pereira could successfully thwart those attempts and maintain the stand-up battle. After surviving the first round, Ankalaev started landing his own strikes from the second round and that’s when the battle started to shift in the Russian fighter’s favor.
The third and the final round was highly competitive, with both fighters landing significant strikes and blows. However, Ankalaev’s aggressive approach combined with calculated and well-placed strikes gave him an edge. In the championship round, Ankalaev opted to engage Pereira in clinches and repeated takedown attempts. Although Pereira successfully defended all of Ankalaev’s takedown attempts, he was unable to generate sustained offense in these grappling exchanges. Towards the end of the final round, Pereira came up with some of his best strikes, and defenses as well as offenses. However, it was a little too late for the Brazilian fighter to roll up his sleeves now.
The final result, when declared, was met by dissatisfaction from the audience, as the bout was expected to be either a close margin win or a decision in favor of Pereira.
In his post-fight interview, Ankalaev expressed his emotion at finally achieving his dream: “I can’t even put it into words. It’s been such a long way, and here is my dream—it’s on my waist,” the Russian fighter stated via a translator.
While Pereira was disheartened by the outcome, however, he still maintained the sportsmanship and praised Ankalaev for his effectiveness.
“I knew it would be a war. Every fight of mine is a war. He put some pressure in the second round, I felt some of his strikes — but putting me up against the cage, he didn’t really do anything.”
The complete winners list of UFC 313
Main Card
– UFC light heavyweight title: Magomed Ankalaev def. Alex Pereira via unanimous decision (49-46, 48-47, 48-47)
– Lightweight: Justin Gaethje def. Rafael Fiziev via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
– Lightweight: Ignacio Bahamondes def. Jalin Turner via submission (triangle choke)
– Strawweight: Amanda Lemos def. Iasmin Lucindo via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
– Lightweight: Mauricio Ruffy def. King Green via KO (spinning heel kick)
Preliminary Card
– Flyweight: Joshua Van def. Rei Tsuruya via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
– Middleweight: Brunno Ferreira def. Armen Petrosyan via submission (armbar)
– Welterweight: Carlos Leal def. Alex Morono via TKO (stirkes)
– Featherweight: Mairon Santos def. Francis Marshall via split decision (27-30, 29-28, 29-28)
Early Preliminary Card
– Middleweight: Ozzy Diaz def. Djorden Santos via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
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With Ankalaev declared as the new UFC light heavyweight champion, fans are excited to see who the Russian fighter will face next.
