Mar 8, 2025; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Alex Pereira (pink gloves) fights Magomed Ankalaev (blue gloves) throughout UFC 313 at T-Cellular Enviornment. Obligatory Credit score: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Pictures LAS VEGAS — Earlier than Alex Pereira’s loss to Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 313 in March, it regarded as if the Brazilian knockout artist had given in to the temptations that include being the game’s most marketable fighter.
At instances, it turned a typical joke amongst followers and fighters about how seen Pereira was throughout his camp.
At UFC 320 on Saturday, Pereira will get what may very nicely be the ultimate probability in his storied profession to reclaim the sunshine heavyweight title belt. Since Ankalaev (20-1-1, 1 no contest) beat Pereira (12-3-0) earlier this 12 months, some seen dangerous blood has festered between the fighters of their interactions.
Along with his status in danger and with a fighter who clearly irritates him holding the title he not too long ago elevated to prominence, Pereira steps into the Saturday combat with a starvation that was lacking in March. Even when Pereira, 38, blames it on accidents fairly than the life-style he led within the months earlier than the combat.
After the primary bout, Pereira claimed he fought at simply 40 % of his typical capabilities. Forward of the second matchup, he will not reveal simply how wholesome he’s, however he made it clear that it should not be used as an excuse this time round.
“I took this break day to relaxation, to handle myself and to heal some accidents,” Pereira mentioned. “I can let you know that I will be excellent on this combat. I can not let you know an actual proportion, however I can let you know I will be doing nicely.
“I do not suppose (I really feel a chip on my shoulder). Clearly, I am right here to win. We won’t management all the pieces, however I am right here to win. Within the final combat, I wasn’t capable of present rather a lot. This time, I had time to essentially put together, and I feel I am going to have the ability to present all the pieces that I’ve improved and all the pieces I have been studying.”
Ankalaev, alternatively, hopes to clean his arms of the Pereira drawback as soon as and for all. One other win for the 33-year-old Russian sambo star would mark 15 consecutive fights and not using a loss.
Ankalaev’s solely profession UFC loss got here throughout his debut towards Paul Craig in 2018, and it taught him classes which have made him practically unbeatable since then. The defeat confirmed Ankalaev that staying calm is a superpower, and that demeanor proved essential in his preliminary victory over Pereira.
“In relation to my calmness, my calm demeanor, I feel it comes from taking the teachings out of that one loss that I had on the very starting of my profession,” Ankalaev mentioned. “I took a selected lesson out of that. I realized issues I wanted to seek out from that loss. From then on, I feel the boldness comes from preparation and exhausting work.
“It is one thing that each fighter develops as they undergo their profession. They discover that calm by which they’ll function through the combat. In relation to being nervous in entrance of a sure combat, I can not say that I’ve by no means been nervous or I’ve by no means been shaky. There have been fights the place, not that I used to be scared, nevertheless it was extra duty that I felt getting into. At this level, for this combat particularly, the rationale for the calm is that I went by a extremely good camp.”
Within the co-main occasion, Merab Dvalishvili (20-4-0) will defend his bantamweight title towards Cory Sandhagen (18-5). Dvalishvili defeated Sean O’Malley for the belt at UFC 306 final September and within the rematch at UFC 316 in June, the latter being his thirteenth consecutive win. Sandhagen has gained 4 of his previous 5 bouts.
–Will Despart, Subject Stage Media
