Alex Pereira’s “chama”—whatever it really means—just ran out. This after Magomed Ankalaev put on a sterling performance to dethrone the man called “Poatan” at UFC 313 at T-Mobile Arena.
Ankalaev won the light heavyweight title from Pereira via unanimous decision, with two judges scoring it 48-47 and a third favoring the Russian 49-46.
The new champ was the aggressor from the opening bell, going after Pereira and never letting him get comfortable with his striking. Ankalaev pressed forward even after the two-division titleholder connected on 11 of his first 14 calf kicks.
None of that fazed Ankalaev, who continued pressing Pereira, forcing him to fight off his back foot for much of the match. Ankalaev even stunned Poatan in the second round twice—first with a stinging left hand midway through and another with a well-placed right in the waning seconds.
By the latter rounds, the Russian began smothering Pereira with clinches and takedown attempts. The constant pressure kept the 38-year-old from launching a sustained offensive or even load up on his notoriously explosive left hand.
Ankalaev-Pereira II in the Works Already?
After the fight, UFC president Dana White said that a rematch is “probably” happening. Ankalaev, for his part, says he doesn’t mind having one but called on Pereira to “fight for real.”
“I kept on moving forward, I kept on pressuring him, and he kept on running away from me,” Ankalaev said in the postfight presser. “For 20 minutes, this guy was running away from me. I heard at the end of the fight he was saying that he wasn’t sure why the victory was given to me. Who’s supposed to be given the victory? I’ve been pressuring him the entire time, he was running away for 20 minutes, and then he’s wondering who’s supposed to get the victory?”
“Listen, I’m happy for a rematch if he wants a rematch, but then maybe in the rematch he could fight for real and not just run away the entire time,” he added.
Pereira, who first became a UFC champ by beating Israel Adesanya, was looking to make history in UFC 313 as the first fighter to defend his title five times in a span of 100 days. Unfortunately for Poatan, Ankalaev was thinking of making history of his own.
