Ankalaev Dethrones Pereira to Become New UFC Light Heavyweight King

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

There’s a new sheriff in town.

It’s officially the changing of the guard, and that light heavyweight golden strap now belongs to Russia’s pride, Magomed Ankalaev.

In a jam-packed T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, thousands of MMA fans witnessed how Ankalaev dissected one of the greatest champions in the UFC, Alex Pereira, during the main event title fight of the UFC 313 event on March 9, 2025.

Ankalaev showed that his complete all-around skill set was enough to halt Pereira’s reign in the light heavyweight division and pulled off a 3-0 unanimous decision victory, marking his first-ever major title since arriving in the UFC.

It was an impressive clinical display of technical offensive variety for Ankalaev as his grappling game mixed with his fluid stand-up artillery put Pereira in several difficult situations the whole five-round fight.

Although Pereira got loose quickly in the opening round after setting up his attacks with a barrage of snappy calf kicks that prevented Ankalaev’s pressure, the Russian star immediately answered back in the second round after nearly knocking down the former champion with a solid straight punch.

Fortunately for Pereira, Ankalaev’s damage was done in the final 10 seconds of the second round, and the ball rang just when the challenger started to corner him in the cage and unleash heavy haymakers.

It was a 50-50 third round after Pereira found success in defending Ankalaev’s takedown attempts while also going back to his calf kicks for easy points on the cards.

Just when Pereira thought he could continue going forward, Ankalaev once again caught him off-guard in the fourth and controlled the round with his grappling dominance.

Despite failing to take Pereira down, Ankalaev still dictated the pace and received a landslide 3-0 vote from the judges, the turning point that influenced his unanimous decision win.

Pereira bounced back in the fifth and final round after gaining ground in the stand-up fight but Ankalaev wisely attempted a takedown in the last minute and grappled until the final match buzzer sounded.

“The plan was to pressure, pressure, pressure. Everybody who fights against Pereira always counters, but my job was to make sure that I work as number one, and everybody who fights against me becomes the counter-striker, and my plan worked,” said Ankalaev (interpreted in English through the UFC’s translator).

With the win, Ankalaev made history after becoming the first UFC fighter to defeat Pereira in the light heavyweight division, snapping his five-fight winning streak from 2023.