Alex Pereira will defend his Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) light heavyweight title against Magomed Ankalaev. The bout will take place in Las Vegas on Sunday morning, South African time.
Brazil’s Pereira (1.78) is the narrow favourite against Russia’s Ankalaev (1.86). Ankalaev has been one of the most in-form fighters in the UFC over the last six years since his only loss to Paul Craig at UFC Fight Night in March 2018.
However, Pereira has been on a tear since losing his UFC Middleweight Championship to Israel Adesanya – from whom he had previously won it. Pereira moved up to light heavyweight and beat Jan Błachowicz before winning the title off Jiří Procházka.
Pereira’s Run of Defences
Pereira knocked out Jamahal Hill in his first light heavyweight title defence. He then beat Procházka by technical knockout (TKO) for the second time in a row.
Most recently, in October at UFC 307, Pereira gained another TKO win over Khalil Rountree Jr. for yet another light heavyweight defence.
The fight against Ankalaev could be his toughest in the light heavyweight division. At 37 years old, he is fighting superbly for his age but will be up against a hungry 32-year-old in his prime.
Ankalaev’s Fine Form
Ankalaev heads into this fight off the back of wins over Johnny Walker and Aleksandar Rakić. He has only one loss in his career – the aforementioned UFC Fight Night loss to Paul Craig.
However, when he fought against Błachowicz, it ended in a draw. This is worth noting as Pereira beat the same opponent by TKO twice in a row.
Pereira’s Possible Dricus du Plessis Matchup
Pereira and South African middleweight Dricus du Plessis have been going back and forth, hinting at a potential looming fight between the pair.
“Even behind the scenes [after UFC 312], I asked him if that was a callout to me and he said yes. I said 205 [pounds – the light heavyweight maximum limit], and he was kind of unsure, but he said sure, so we’ll see,” Pereira said, as per the New York Post.
Du Plessis looks set to fight Khamzat Chimaev as he looks to defend his middleweight title. However, it is possible that he could soon lie in wait as a challenger to Pereira at light heavyweight.
Sean Strickland claims that Pereira does not like du Plessis. If that is true, this is a fight they would both want. Furthermore, Pereira will have extra potential motivation to beat Ankalaev if the animosity towards du Plessis is real so that he can face the South African as a defending champion.
Other Fights at UFC 313
There are other UFC 313 fights worth keeping an eye on for those who love the UFC and online sports betting.
Chris Gutierrez (1.86) will face John Castaneda (1.78) in another fight that will be extremely difficult to call in the prelims.
As far as the main card goes, keep an eye on Justin Gaethje (2.22) vs. Rafael Fiziev (1.58). Gaethje was initially set to fight Dan Hooker, but that fight was cancelled. Fiziev will provide a fierce challenge for him after stepping up to face him at lightweight in the co-main event of UFC 313.
Gaethje won the last time these two fighters faced off at UFC 286. However, this bout is by no means a foregone conclusion and it should be one of the most interesting contests on the night in Las Vegas.
Conclusion
There will be plenty of action worth keeping an eye on at UFC 313. However, nothing can quite match the contest we will witness in the main event as Alex Pereira defends his light heavyweight title against Magomed Ankalaev.
