Top Reasons to Catch UFC 320

A familiar hurdle stands between Magomed Ankalaev and his securing virtually universal acclaim as the sport’s premier player at 205 pounds.

The 33-year-old Russian sambo practitioner will defend his undisputed Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight title when he rematches Alex Pereira in the UFC 320 headliner on Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The 33-year-old Ankalaev enters the cage on the strength of a three-fight winning streak. He last suited up at UFC 313, where he took a five-round unanimous from Pereira and reached the summit of the 205-pound mountain. Pereira, meanwhile, looks to rebound from his first loss in nearly two years. “Poatan” remains one of MMA’s most feared kickboxers, having delivered 10 of his 12 professional victories by knockout or technical knockout. Pereira, now 38, has never lost back-to-back bouts.

In addition to the Ankalaev-Pereira sequel atop the bill, here are three other reasons to catch UFC 320:

Firing on All Cylinders

Merab Dvalishvili has essentially emerged as the latest Rodney Dangerfield of the full-contact fighting world—a legitimate all-time great who simply does not get the respect he deserves. “The Machine” puts his UFC bantamweight crown on the line when he confronts Cory Sandhagen in the five-round co-main event at 135 pounds. Undefeated since April 2018, Dvalishvili waltzes into his latest test on the heels of 13 consecutive wins. The Serra-Longo Fight Team product last saw action on June 7, when he put away Sean O’Malley with a north-south choke in the third round of their UFC 316 pairing and improved to 2-0 in his head-to-head series with the MMA Lab star. On the other side of the equation, Sandhagen has won four of his past five fights. The Elevation Fight Team rep last competed at UFC on ESPN 67, where he was awarded an anticlimactic TKO after Deiveson Figueiredo suffered a knee injury in the second round of their May 3 encounter.

A Call to Action

Violence lovers delight. Former light heavyweight champion Jiri Prochazka hunts his second straight victory over a Top 10 opponent when he toes the line against “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 23 finalist Khalil Rountree in a three-round showcase at 205 pounds. Prochazka, 32, has alternated wins and losses in four appearances since he dethroned Glover Teixeira in 2022. The Czech berserker last fought at UFC 311, where he cut down Jamahal Hill with punches in the third round of their battle on Jan. 18. Prochazka now boasts 30 finishes among his 31 pro victories. Rountree, meanwhile, has posted six wins across his past seven assignments. The Syndicate MMA standout last strapped on the gloves on June 21, when he outstruck Hill to a five-round unanimous decision at UFC on ABC 8.

Going Places

All signs point to Youssef Zalal having a sky-high ceiling. The surging Factory X stalwart looks to accelerate his ascent in the featherweight division when he faces Josh Emmett in a three-round attraction at 145 pounds. Zalal has pieced together seven straight victories against increasingly stout opposition. “The Moroccan Devil” took another step forward at UFC Fight Night 251, where he laid claim to a three-round unanimous decision over Calvin Kattar on Feb. 15. On the other side of the ledger, Emmett has compiled an alarming 1-3 record over his past four outings. The 40-year-old Team Alpha Male mainstay last set foot in the cage on April 5, when he wound up on the wrong side of a unanimous decision against the undefeated Lerone Murphy at UFC on ESPN 65.