After years of waiting, Magomed Ankalaev is finally a UFC champion, defeating Alex Pereira on Saturday at UFC 313 in a unanimous decision to capture the light heavyweight title, inflicting the Brazilian his first loss in the weight class.
Ankalaev, 16-2-1, showed better grappling and applied more pressure to stifle Pereira’s striking. The Russian took some leg kicks in the early going but came back in the second round with a straight left that sent Pereira weaving backward.
Throughout the fight, Ankalaev established his wrestling-desired game; pinning Pereira against the cage, wearing him down with knees and clinch control. By the fourth round, the Brazilian looked spent, unable to fight free from Ankalaev’s relentless pressure.
Pereira fought back in the final round, connecting with a head kick, but Ankalaev remained patient and took the win according to the judges’ scorecards.
“I can’t put it into words. It’s a long wait,” Ankalaev said after winning the belt, having previously fought to a draw in his first title shot in 2022.
Unbowed by the defeat, Pereira said: “I’ll take a couple days off and I’ll be back on it — this is my life.”
