Unshakable Magomed Ankalaev Unseats Alex Pereira in UFC 313 Main Event

Magomed Ankalaev stared into the eyes of a Brazilian boogeyman and did not blink.

Relentless forward pressure, clubbing power punches and a suffocating clinch game spurred Ankalaev to a unanimous decision over Alex Pereira, as he captured the undisputed Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight crown in the UFC 313 headliner on Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. All three members of the judiciary sided with Ankalaev (20-1-1, 12-1-1 UFC): 49-46, 48-47 and 48-47.

Pereira (12-3, 9-2 UFC) invested heavily in kicks to the lower lead leg, and they seemed to pay dividends initially. However, Ankalaev connected with the most impactful strike of the match near the end of the second round, where he staggered the champion with a clean left hook. Pereira survived but looked uncharacteristically gun-shy as the bout progressed. A closely contested third round gave way to a lopsided fourth for Ankalaev, who trapped “Poatan” along the fence in a domineering clinch that allowed him to fire knees to the body, sap more steam out of his opponent and bleed valuable time off the clock. Pereira appeared to rattle the challenger with a head kick in the fifth round but failed to follow up with anything of real substance—a development that came back to bite him once the scores were read.

Meanwhile, onetime World Series of Fighting champion Justin Gaethje moved to 2-0 in his head-to-head series against Rafael Fiziev with a unanimous decision over the Tiger Muay Thai export in their three-round lightweight co-main event. Gaethje (26-5, 9-5 UFC)—who won their first meeting by majority decision in 2023—swept the scorecards with matching 29-28 marks across the board.

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A short-notice substitution for Dan Hooker, Fiziev (12-4, 6-4 UFC) battered the Arizona native with close-range knee strikes and crushing kicks to the body. Gaethje refused to wilt. He decked Fiziev with a right uppercut in the second round and made a strong closing argument in the third. There, the Trevor Wittman disciple uncorked clubbing power punches from both hands, scored with dirty boxing in the clinch and even managed to connect with a pair of head kicks. Fatigue eventually took hold of Fiziev and cut off any possibility of a late rally.

It was the third straight loss for Fiziev, who returned to the stage for the first time since he tore his ACL in a loss to Mateusz Gamrot at UFC Fight Night 228 some 500 days ago.

Further down the main card, VFS Academy standout Ignacio Bahamondes put away Jalin Turner with a triangle choke in the first round of their lightweight showcase. Bahamondes (17-5, 6-2 UFC) closed it out 2:29 into Round 1, nailing down his first submission victory in more than three years.

Turner (14-9, 7-6 UFC) plowed into top position inside the first minute and set out to unleash his elbows. However, he lingered too long in the venomous Bahamondes guard and soon found himself entangled in the Chilean’s long legs. Before Turner could react, the choke was in place. Bahamondes tightened his squeeze on “The Tarantula” and prompted the tapout.

The 27-year-old Bahamondes has won three fights in a row, all of them first-round finishes.

Elsewhere, ex-Jungle Fight titleholder Amanda Lemos rode repeated takedowns, copious amounts of control time and intermittent ground-and-pound to a unanimous decision over Iasmin Lucindo in a three-round women’s strawweight attraction. All three cageside judges scored it the same: 29-28 for Lemos (15-4-1, 9-4 UFC).

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Lucindo (17-6, 4-2 UFC) was a non-factor for much of the 15-minute encounter. Lemos executed takedowns in all three rounds, opened a cut under the Fight House rep’s right eye with a slashing standing elbow and dictated the terms of their engagement for two-plus rounds. Lucindo rallied for a time in the third—she secured a takedown of her own—but never truly turned the corner against her fellow Brazilian.

The setback snapped a four-fight winning streak for Lucindo.

Finally, the surging Mauricio Ruffy leveled former King of the Cage champion Bobby Green with a perfectly executed spinning wheel kick in the first round of their lightweight appetizer. Green (32-17-1, 13-12-1 UFC) met his end 2:07 into Round 1, losing for the third time in four outings.

Ruffy (12-1, 3-0 UFC) pressed forward, backed his counterpart to the fence and stepped into the kick. Heel struck face with violent precision, and Green crashed to the canvas facedown and unconscious, the unwitting victim of an early contender for “Knockout of the Year.”

The 28-year-old Ruffy has rattled off seven straight wins.

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