Magomed Ankalaev defends his light heavyweight title against Alex Pereira on October 4 at UFC 320 in Las Vegas. DraftKings has Ankalaev at -180 and Pereira at +150 for their rematch after the Russian beat him by decision back in March at UFC 313.
That first fight went all five rounds with Ankalaev winning on all three scorecards, 48-47. He used his wrestling to control Pereira for big chunks of the fight while the Brazilian couldn’t get his striking going. Most people expected Pereira’s power to be the difference, but Ankalaev’s grappling made it a long night for the former champ.
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Ankalaev brings a 21-1-1 record into this defense and hasn’t lost since Paul Craig submitted him in 2018. That defeat taught him some lessons about staying calm under pressure. He’s put together 14 straight fights without a loss since then, beating guys like Jan Blachowicz and Anthony Smith on his way to the title shot. His training at American Kickboxing Academy has refined both his wrestling technique and striking fundamentals under the guidance of coach Javier Mendez.
Pereira has knocked out eight guys in his 11 UFC fights. The Brazilian started MMA late, but his kickboxing background translated well once he figured out the wrestling side of things. His left hook can put anyone to sleep, which makes him dangerous even when he’s losing rounds. The former two-division champion built his reputation on finishing fights early and spectacularly.
The rematch comes down to whether Pereira can stop the takedowns that gave him so much trouble before. Ankalaev controlled him along the cage and on the ground for most of their first fight. Pereira needs to keep this standing where his power gives him the best chance to land something big. His camp has probably spent months working on takedown defense and cage craft to avoid repeating the same mistakes from their first encounter.
UFC 320 also has bantamweight champ Merab Dvalishvili defending against Cory Sandhagen. Dvalishvili has won 13 straight and puts a pace on guys that wears them down over three rounds. Former champ Jiri Prochazka fights Khalil Rountree in another light heavyweight bout that could determine the next title challenger.
This card brings the UFC back to Vegas after a summer of international shows. The Ankalaev-Pereira rematch represents one of the year’s biggest title fights with two proven champions who took different paths to the top of the light heavyweight division.
