Pereira was hoping to successfully defend his light-heavyweight title amid talks of potentially moving up to heavyweight and becoming a three-division champion
Magomed Ankalaev shocks the world after toppling Alex Pereira to become the new undisputed light-heavyweight champion.
The Russian star has made easy work of several top contenders en route to his second title shot with the UFC in the last four years. After his first crack at the gold against Jan Błachowicz, Ankalaev was determined to make sure he reigned supreme in his second attempt in Las Vegas.
Back-to-back wins over Johnny Walker and Aleksandar Rakic earned him a shot at Pereira’s title. Heading into the mouthwatering showdown undefeated in his previous 13 fights, the 32-year-old Russian used the momentum to his advantage, ruining the Brazilian’s plan of potentially moving up another weight class and challenging for another belt.
From the get-go, it was evident that Pereira was going to have his hands full. The Brazilian was quick to march forward in the opening exchanges, landing his trademark low kicks along with some quick shots upstairs. That said none of them really fazed the Russian challenger at all. Ankalaev kicked on towards the back end of the round, but ‘Poatan’ arguably took it.
Ankalaev’s team were quick to warn him about the low kicks heading into the second. He begun the second round on the front foot, landing a body kicks before going downstairs. The champion tried to get his jab going, but the champion fired back with a few overhands. Something was clearly off with the Brazilian as he failed to really get going. The Russian stunned Pereira and backed him against the fence at the end of the round with a brilliantly-timed cross over the top.
In the co-main event, Justin Gaethje got back to winning ways after defeating Rafael Fiziev in a thrilling contest. The latter begun the lightweight dust-up on the front foot and was able to land two takedowns early. Fiziev’s shots and knees to the body appeared to bother ‘The Highlight’ in the opening five minutes.
Despite a successful round, Fiziev appeared battered and bruised and had a few slight grazing above his eyes. Gaethje worked his way back into the fight in the second round, landing several sharp combinations upstairs. The American was getting the better of the exchanges, but Fiziev was still willing to trade and land well. That said, ‘The Highlight’ stole the round after dropping his foe with a brutal uppercut,
With the fight likely tied heading into the final round, Gaethje was quick to begin on the front foot with a brutal right hand to close the range. The American’s dirty boxing proved to be too much for Fiziev. ‘The Highlight’s’ creativity and mix of shots gave him the edge in round three before he eventually got his hand raised via unanimous decision.
Elsewhere on the main card, Ignacio Bahamondes made it three wins on the bounce following a first-round submission victory over Jalin Turner. Mauricio Ruffy continued his rise up the lightweight rankings after producing one of the best knockouts of all-time, sleeping King Green with a spinning wheel kick inside the first-round.
MORE TO FOLLOW.
