UFC 320: Pereira stuns Ankalaev with TKO to regain light heavyweight title

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Alex Pereira won backmost the airy heavyweight rubric with a method knockout of Magomed Ankalaev astatine UFC 320 successful Las Vegas.

Published On 5 Oct 2025

Alex Pereira has caused a boilover astatine Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) 320 with a first-round method knockout (TKO) of heavy favoured Magomed Ankalaev successful Las Vegas, regaining his undisputed airy heavyweight title loop and avenging his decision by the Russian 7 months earlier.

Pereira took lone 1 infinitesimal and 20 seconds to decision Ankalaev aft helium dropped the 33-year-old champion with a immense close hook little than a infinitesimal into the contention connected Saturday astatine T-Mobile Arena.

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The Brazilian past finished disconnected the combat with a flurry of punches and elbows earlier the lucifer referee called disconnected the bout.

Ankalaev, who had ne'er been knocked retired successful a UFC match, had his 14-match unbeaten tally ended, going backmost to his promotional debut astatine a UFC Fight Night successful March 2018.

Pre-fight, Pereira was the decided underdog, with Ankalaev backed by 89 percent of the combat bets astatine BetMGM.

Ankalaev (20-2-1, 12-2-1 UFC) had already beaten Pereira (13-3, 10-2 UFC) successful their archetypal bout astatine UFC 313 connected March 8. Pereira claimed helium fought astatine conscionable 40 percent of his accustomed capabilities owed to injury.

Pereira’s triumph makes him a two-time UFC airy heavyweight champion.

The 38-year-old’s triumph revives the airy heavyweight rubric picture, taking the loop from a combatant successful Ankalaev who did small to animate anticipation for the aboriginal of the division. With Jiri Prochazka besides winning his bout by stunning knockout, it awakened the imaginable for a 3rd bout against Pereira for the belt.

Alex Pereira and Magomed Ankalaev successful action.

In the earlier co-main lawsuit title bout, Merab Dvalishvili (21-4-0) defended his undisputed bantamweight crown with a unanimous determination against Cory Sandhagen (18-6-0) successful their five-round contest.

The 3 judges scored it for Dvalishvili: 49-45, 49-45 and 49-46.

The astir anticipated enactment of the main paper began with a airy heavyweight warfare betwixt Prochazka (32-5-1) and Khalil Rountree Jr (15-7-0). With a nonaccomplishment apt successful the equilibrium precocious successful the third, the Czech combatant landed a devastating operation that knocked Rountree retired acold with 2 minutes near connected the clock.

Rountree gained an aboriginal vantage by landing aggregate bid of high-calibre combinations successful the archetypal circular that near Prochazka intelligibly stumbling into the second. The exchanges besides bushed Rountree, allowing Prochazka a accidental to find a model with his third-round explosion.