Magomed Ankalaev vs. Alex Pereira Rematch Set For UFC 320 Main Event

A light-heavyweight title rematch between current champion Magomed Ankalaev and the man he dethroned, Alex Pereira is set to headline UFC 320 on October 4th in Las Vegas.

The 33-year-old Ankalaev ended Pereira’s title reign in March of this year courtesy of a unanimous decision victory at UFC 313 in Las Vegas and extended his current unbeaten run to 14-fights in the process.

Along the way Ankalaev had also beaten the likes of Aleksander Rakic, Johnny Walker, Anthony Smith, Thiago Santos, Volkan Oezdemir and Nikita Krylov before finally seizing the title.

And since then Ankalaev has been eager to prove that it was no fluke as he’s been actively calling for an immediate rematch with Pereira, which has now become a reality.

The 38-year-old former kickboxing ace Pereira had already been a UFC middleweight champion when he made the move up to light-heavyweight in 2023 and became a rapid ascent up to the top of the tree at 205lbs.

A split-decision win over ex-champ Jan Blachowicz led to a title-winning TKO finish of Jiri Prochazka before 2023 was over, followed by no less than three successful defense of the belt in the year that followed, KO’ing Jamhal Hill and TKO’ing both Jiri Prochazka and Khalil Rountree Jr.

However, at a time when Pereira was now a major star and one of the most feared fighters in the sport, Ankalaev came along and derailed his momentum to win the belt. Pereira’s past accomplishments have earned him the right to face his foe once again though and prove that he’s still the dominant force in the division.

Ankalaev vs. Pereira 2 headlines a UFC 320 event that will also feature a bantamweight title fight between Merab Dvalishvili and Cory Sandhagen.