A new UFC Light Heavyweight Champion was crowned.
Alex Pereira defended the UFC Light Heavyweight title for the fifth time at UFC 313, but the former champion wasn’t at his best on Saturday. This was the first title defense where Pereira went the distance and though he wasn’t able to dominate Ankalaev like his other opponents, Pereira was still able to hold his own throughout the five rounds.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t enough for the 37-year-old. There was a moment where Ankalaev had Pereira stunned, which came in the second round after a nasty left hook. Ankalaev was able to keep Pereira on his toes for five rounds and won via unanimous decision.
The win was somewhat of a controversial one as many believe that Alex held his own in a couple of rounds to get the victory, but as Dana White always says, “Don't leave it in the hands of judges.” This is Ankalaev’s first title in the UFC. White himself has stated that he’s considering a rematch between the two down the line.
In the co-main event, Justin Gaethje and Rafael Fiziev had another banger where both men went to war for the full three rounds. Just like UFC 286, Gaethje emerged victorious, and the former interim lightweight champion has his sights set on challenging for the 155-pound belt once again. Gaethje’s record now stands at 26 wins and 5 losses.
Below is the official results of UFC 313:
Main card
UFC light heavyweight title: Magomed Ankalaev def. Alex Pereira via unanimous decision
Lightweight: Justin Gaethje def. Rafael Fiziev via unanimous decision
Lightweight: Ignacio Bahamondes def. Jalin Turner via submission (triangle choke) at 2:29 of Round 1
Strawweight: Amanda Lemos def. Iasmin Lucindo via unanimous decision
Lightweight: Mauricio Ruffy def. King Green via KO (spinning heel kick) at 2:07 of Round 1
Preliminary card
Flyweight: Joshua Van def. Rei Tsuruya via unanimous decision
Middleweight: Brunno Ferreira def. Armen Petrosyan via submission (armbar) at 4:27 of Round 2
Welterweight: Carlos Leal def. Alex Morono via TKO (stirkes) at 4:16 of Round 1 |
Featherweight: Mairon Santos def. Francis Marshall via split decision
Early preliminary card
Middleweight: Ozzy Diaz def. Djorden Santos via unanimous decision