LAS VEGAS — Alex Pereira said he wasn’t himself back in March, when he surrendered his UFC light heavyweight title to Magomed Ankalaev in a five-round decision. Their immediate rematch at UFC 320 on Saturday indicated that was no lie.
Pereira (14-3) reclaimed his 205-pound championship in dominant fashion in Las Vegas, finishing Ankalaev (21-2-1) with strikes on the ground just 80 seconds into the opening round.
It was a stunning reversal from what happened seven months ago, when Pereira appeared hesitant in what became his first loss at light heavyweight. On Saturday, he burst out of his corner at the start of the fight and put Ankalaev away while hardly absorbing any strikes. It was the quickest finish of Pereira’s MMA career and the second-quickest title fight in UFC light heavyweight history, behind Vitor Belfort’s 49-second win over Randy Couture in 2004.
It was the first knockout loss of Ankalaev’s career and snapped a 14-fight unbeaten streak.
“Vengeance is never a good thing, it’s kind of a poison sometimes,” Pereira said through an interpreter. “[But] I told everyone I was not in a good condition last time. Everyone saw that tonight.”
During UFC 320 fight week, Pereira’s team told ESPN he fought Ankalaev at UFC 313 in March with a fractured tibia. He had also fallen sick and been placed on antibiotics in the weeks leading up. Because of those circumstances, Pereira estimated he was only at “40 percent” of his capacity that night.
He looked very much at 100 percent on Saturday. Pereira asserted himself in the center of the Octagon and walked Ankalaev down with strikes. He hurt him early with a right hand to the chin and eventually finished the bout with elbow strikes from top position. Pereira had a 28-4 edge over Ankalaev in total strikes.
Immediately after the bout, Pereira stood over Ankalaev and made the same, taunting gesture he made after knocking out Jamahal Hill at UFC 300 in April 2024. There had been some animosity between Pereira and Ankalaev in the buildup to UFC 320, as Pereira accused Ankalaev of hiding from him during fight week and lying about Pereira not wanting a rematch to begin with.
Saturday’s knockout marked the 12th of Pereira’s MMA career and made him the third two-time light heavyweight champion in UFC history. He now shares that distinction with Couture and Jon Jones. In his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan inside T-Mobile Arena, Pereira asked for a moment of silence for Jones and his family. Jones’ older brother Arthur, a former Super Bowl champion with the Baltimore Ravens, died this week at age 39.
Jones and Pereira have previously both expressed interest in fighting one another. Jones announced his retirement earlier this year but has already re-entered the UFC’s drug testing pool in anticipation of fighting again.
Pereira has plenty of options ahead after reclaiming his belt. He could face former champion Jiri Procházka, who knocked out Khalil Rountree Jr. in a “Fight of the Night” performance on Saturday. Carlos Ulberg, who knocked out Dominick Reyes at UFC Fight Night last weekend in Perth, Australia, is also an option. Ulberg was in attendance at UFC 320.
Pereira could also move up to heavyweight, where he could face Jones or the winner of a heavyweight title fight between Tom Aspinall and Ciryl Gane at UFC 321 on Oct. 25 in Abu Dhabi. At his postfight news conference Saturday night, UFC CEO Dana White was asked about that possibility and revealed Pereira’s team had told him earlier in the day that they were interested in having him fight at heavyweight. White expressed some reluctance toward the move, saying it would be a difficult one for a fighter who began his UFC career at 185 pounds.
Pereira is already a two-weight champion in the UFC, at light heavyweight and middleweight. There has never been a three-weight champion in UFC history.
“He was a middleweight, and he’s gonna jump up two weight classes in the UFC?” White said. “It’s not like jumping up two weight classes in boxing. It’s a big jump. And it’s not that I have any reservations about it. He’s in a division that there’s still some interesting fights.
“I don’t know, I like the guy so much. We’ll see. We’ll have to talk about it.”
Ankalaev, 33, is probably looking at an extended run to get back to a championship. It took a nine-fight winning streak to earn Ankalaev his first title opportunity in 2022, when he fought Jan Blachowicz to a split draw in a performance that was later criticized by White. He eventually had to win two more fights in 2024 to earn a crack at Pereira.
