Preview: UFC 320 ‘Ankalaev vs. Pereira 2’

After a rare month without a numbered event, the Ultimate Fighting Championship on Saturday returns to pay-per-view with a strong lineup at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. UFC 320 looks like a big night for the top of the light heavyweight division. Magomed Ankalaev defends his championship against the man he won it from in a headlining rematch with Alex Pereira, while a Jiri Prochazka-Khalil Rountree showcase might be the best bout on the card and could establish the next No. 1 contender at 205 pounds. Meanwhile, Merab Dvalishvili looks to continue his impressive reign as bantamweight champion against Cory Sandhagen in the co-headliner. Finally, two intriguing matchups round out the main draw: Josh Emmett takes on Youssef Zalal in a veteran-versus-prospect battle at featherweight, while Abusupiyan Magomedov squares off with Joe Pyfer in a clash between fast middleweight starters.

Now to the UFC 320 “Ankalaev vs. Pereira 2” preview:

UFC Light Heavyweight Championship

Magomed Ankalaev (20-1-1, 12-1-1 UFC) vs. Alex Pereira (12-3, 9-2 UFC)

BETTING ODDS: Ankalaev (-258), Pereira (+210)

The long-anticipated Ankalaev era has arrived for the light heavyweight division, though there’s the chance that it might end before it ever truly gets started. Ankalaev came to the UFC in 2018, by which point he was already tabbed as having championship potential. Technically sound and armed with plenty of horsepower, Ankalaev could be overly patient at times but was also capable of running over his opponents, showing off some particularly brutal ground-and-pound. That last skill was on display in his UFC debut against Paul Craig, which saw one-way traffic until the unthinkable happened. Craig threw up a desperation triangle choke in the closing moments of the fight and somehow found a literal last-second submission, handing Ankalaev his first career loss and setting his championship journey back a few years. Ankalaev continued to handle his opposition after the Craig defeat, though that setback seemed to take all the aggression out of the Russian’s approach. Some opponents still couldn’t help but implode in the face of Ankalaev’s talents, but more patient foes would wind up in some interminable fights where he would leave a lot on the table despite walking away with a clear win. That all came to a head in a fight between Ankalaev and Jan Blachowicz for the vacant light heavyweight title at the end of 2022. It took Ankalaev three rounds before he decided to get to his best weapons and start to wrestle, but despite winning both the championship rounds in one-sided fashion, he only managed to earn a draw. The UFC was so disgusted with the fight that it moved in a completely different direction to crown a new light heavyweight champion, so Ankalaev had to earn his way back to the title picture with wins over Johnny Walker and Aleksandar Rakic. That earned Ankalaev a shot at then-champion Alex Pereira in March, and to his credit, he put on an excellent performance per his standards. Ankalaev pressured enough to keep Pereira on his toes and win a fight that was primarily contested on the feet, as the Brazilian’s takedown defense showed up in surprisingly impressive form. However, what figures to be Ankalaev’s most dangerous challenge isn’t fully out of the way yet, as the UFC has given Pereira a rightfully earned immediate rematch.

It’s still less than four years removed from Pereira’s UFC debut, and yet, it’s hard to remember that the Brazilian’s success was far from guaranteed. Pereira’s full-time move to mixed martial arts was spurred by some comments from former kickboxing rival and then-middleweight champ Israel Adesanya. Given the somewhat spur-of-the-moment nature of that decision, “Poatan” didn’t have the type of long runway for his transition that suggested he would be immediately ready for his new sport. That showed up a bit in his UFC debut, where he got slowed down some by the wrestling of Andreas Michailidis before uncorking a knockout. From there, the mission seemed clear: Get Pereira to a title shot against Adesanya as quickly as possible, before those wrestling issues got exposed enough to derail his career. That mission was quickly accomplished with credible wins over Bruno Silva and Sean Strickland, so Pereira got his shot at Adesanya on a massive stage, headlining Madison Square Garden about a year removed from his UFC debut in the same arena. The fight that ensued followed the same general script as their kickboxing days. Adesanya did most of the best work and was probably the better fighter in the aggregate, but it was Pereira who stood tall in the end, this time via a fifth-round knockout that capped off a surprising comeback. An immediate rematch was the biggest money fight for everyone involved, and after Adesanya got his revenge a few months later—this time staging his own comeback via knockout—Pereira decided to end that chapter, stop draining his body and start a campaign up at 205 pounds. Pereira’s light heavyweight run went about as swimmingly as possible, particularly for the UFC, as it consistently needed the Brazilian to save its promotional bacon. After getting by Blachowicz, Pereira won the vacant title against Jiri Prochazka, the first of four times that he was called on to step in on short notice when the UFC found itself without a pay-per-view main event. All those fights ended with a Pereira knockout, which helped him build his profile as one of the UFC’s most prominent and exciting fighters—at least until Ankalaev came along. Pereira forced Ankalaev into his most entertaining fight in a while, but at the expense of the Brazilian getting to do what he does best. Pereira’s takedown defense held up surprisingly well, but that was part of what wound up as a surprisingly passive performance, as he blinked first when it came to pressure and handed Ankalaev a lot of initiative. That’s really the calculation in the rematch. Pereira might be better served moving forward and hunting for the knockout more, which could add some variance to the fight in either direction, with “Poatan” either finding that finish or giving Ankalaev more of a path towards his wrestling. On the Ankalaev side, it’s mostly a question of maintaining that composure, particularly if Pereira does come out in a more aggressive fashion. Ankalaev probably still has the physical tools to stay ahead in that fight, but the mental side of things is always a question, as the champion can either be brought out of his shell or decide to recede into it depending on the day. The read is that Pereira has more to fix and that Ankalaev potentially maintains his poise in a rematch against a man he has already beaten. With that said, this remains an interesting coin flip. The pick is Ankalaev via decision.



Jump To »
Ankalaev vs. Pereira
Dvalishvili vs. Sandhagen
Prochazka vs. Rountree
Zalal vs. Emmett
Pyfer vs. Magomedov
The Prelims