Magomed Ankalaev defeated Alex Pereira to win the UFC light heavyweight title in the main event of UFC 313 on Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Pereira dominated the first round, but he appeared to fade as the fight progressed, while Ankalaev gained momentum en route to a unanimous decision victory. Ankalaev has won 14 straight fights.
Pereira entered the fight as ESPN’s second-ranked pound-for-pound fighter. He suffered his first loss in the UFC’s 205-pound division.
In the co-main event, Justin Gaethje defeated Rafael Fiziev via unanimous decision in a rematch of their closely contested March 2023 fight. Gaethje won the first fight by a majority decision. Fiziev, who had returned from injury, accepted this fight on short notice after Gaethje’s original opponent, Dan Hooker, withdrew due to a hand injury.
Andreas Hale, Brett Okamoto, and Dre Waters break down the action from UFC 313.
