Fight Coverage
The Bigger Picture | UFC 313: Pereira vs Ankalaev
Reflecting On An Eventful Night At T-Mobile Arena, Where A New Champion Emerged
UFC 313 did what quite literally every pay-per-view does, and that is leave us with plenty to digest, discuss, and unpack in its aftermath.
So let’s do that, shall we?
The King is Dead. Long Live the King
Magomed Ankalaev is the new UFC light heavyweight champion after unseating Alex Pereira in a tactical, measured performance in Saturday night’s main event. The Russian, who extended his unbeaten streak to 14 with his third straight win, claimed the title with scores of 48-47 twice and 49-46, with officials Mike Bell and Derek Cleary awarding the challenger the middle three frames, and their colleague Sal D’Amato seeing the fifth for him as well.
UFC 313 REWIND: Final Results | Official Scorecards
This was a competitive fight that hinged on how the third round was scored, and it was, without question, the most competitive round of the contest. Everyone watching saw that, everyone watching knew that, and ultimately, Ankalaev won the fight because all three officials believed he did enough in the middle stanza to earn the nod.
In the immediate aftermath, Pereira criticized Ankalaev’s approach and those criticisms have been amplified across the media saying, “We know that he puts people against the fence, and he plays that game,” and questioning whether “giving him the win with a game plan like that kind of incentivizes people to do that against people.”
Magomed Ankalaev Post-Fight Interview | UFC 313
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Magomed Ankalaev Post-Fight Interview | UFC 313
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Even without re-watching the fight, I can tell you that Ankalaev didn’t just hold Pereira along the fence. He did put his back on the wall for a long stretch in the fourth round, and 82 seconds in the final frame — which Pereira won on two of the three scorecards — but in the decisive third round, Ankalaev had six seconds of control time.
Six.
Ankalaev won this fight by pressuring and out-working “Poatan,” not grinding him along the cage, or taking him down and holding him on the canvas, as he was unsuccessful on all 12 of his recorded takedown attempts. He won this fight by going at Pereira in a manner that no one else has yet, showing awareness of the power and attacks coming back his way, but confidence in his own ability to make reads, land blows, and back up the Brazilian, who prefers to be the one coming forward.
While I also disagree with Ankalaev’s post-fight comments about Pereira “running for 20 minutes,” his recollection of how the fight played out is the more accurate of the two. He was the one coming forward. He did take Pereira out of his preferred approach.
He won this fight by outstriking the most feared striker in the division, if not the sport, and regardless of what Pereira thinks of his approach and the way the fight was scored, that has to be made clear whenever people talk about how this fight played out.
This fight didn’t play out the way most people expected, but part of that is because the expectation that Ankalaev could only win by wrestling was erroneous. He’s always favored striking, has always been a sharp and diverse fighter on the feet, and he did an exceptional job of forcing Pereira out of his comfort zone.
And here’s the last thing: these two are highly likely to do it again, and Pereira will get the opportunity to do what the new champion did to him on Saturday night.
Justin Gaethje: One of One
Justin Gaethje has 14 appearances inside the UFC Octagon and 14 post-fight bonuses in his career, adding to both totals on Saturday when he earned his second career victory — this time by unanimous decision — over Rafael Fiziev.
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The performance was classic Gaethje and very much in line with their initial meeting at UFC 286 in London just about two years ago, with Fiziev coming out hot, winning the opening round on all three cards, and the former interim titleholder warming into things and pulling away down the stretch. What was different this time, however, is that it came at a time when there were tons of questions being asked about Gaethje heading into this contest, and the only way to answer them was to sit back and see how things played out.
Many wondered where the 36-year-old human wrecking ball stood in terms of his career and his ability to continue doing things his way following his UFC 300 knockout loss to Max Holloway, which came at the end of a bout that “Blessed” was winning handily. At UFC 313, Gaethje showed that he only knows one way to do things and despite landing on the business end of one of the nastiest knockouts of the last several years last April, he’s still plenty capable of wading into the fire, taking some clean shots, and firing back in kind.
Gaethje truly is a one-of-one fighter — someone that tucks away his wrestling abilities and has no interest in the safer path to victory in favor of striding into the Octagon and laying it all on the line for as long as it takes, whether he gets the job done or not. He’s tightened a few things up over the years and become a little more judicious in terms of his output and propensity for getting hit, but he’s never going to be mistaken for a point fighter, that’s for sure.
At some point, the wheels are going to fall off and Father Time is going to come for Gaethje, just like he does everyone else, which is why it’s imperative that we continue to appreciate this absolute madman and his constant willingness to put himself in harm’s way in order to entertain and achieve victory each and every time he makes the walk.
We’ve never seen an all-action, perennial title contender with a penchant for hellacious battles before and we’ll likely never see one again.
Gaethje is something different.
Ruffy Shines, Fighting Nerds Keep Flying
Mauricio Ruffy kicked off the UFC 313 main card with a beautiful spinning wheel kick knockout of King Green that earned him a Performance of the Night bonus, a third straight UFC win, and a seventh consecutive victory overall. It was without question the biggest win of his career, but also another stunning effort from a member of the surging Fighting Nerds crew.
Mauricio Ruffy Post-Fight Interview | UFC 313
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Mauricio Ruffy Post-Fight Interview | UFC 313
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The 28-year-old arrived in the UFC with a ton of hype, impressed in his debut win over Jamie Mullarkey at UFC 301, but then underwhelmed a little in his sophomore outing against James Llontop last year at UFC 309, going the distance with the game Peruvian.
But Saturday’s effort against Green was a reminder of the kind of dynamic offense and dangerous arsenal Ruffy brings with him to the Octagon, and will likely result in the UFC matchmakers having a difficult time finding anyone ranked ahead of him that is eager to step in against him in the coming months.
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As great as his performance was individually, it has to be mentioned within the context of the Fighting Nerds team as well, because the upstart outfit from Sao Paulo is on an absolute heater over the last couple years.
Caio Borralho, the first member of the team to touch down in the UFC, is 7-0 inside the Octagon, sits at No. 6 in the middleweight rankings, and should be in the mix for a big fight whenever he makes his 2025 debut.
Carlos Prates went 4-0 last year in his rookie campaign, forcing his way into the Top 15 in the welterweight division by wrapping his year with stoppage wins over Li Jingliang and Neil Magny, and is poised to face Geoff Neal next month at UFC 314 in Miami.
Jean Silva pushed his record to 4-0 inside the Octagon a couple weeks back with a first-round stoppage win over Melsik Baghdasaryan, and has already booked his next assignment: a UFC 314 showdown with Bryce Mitchell that could carry him into the rankings.
The only two members of the team that have struggled thus far are Kaynan Kruschewsky and Bruna Brasil, with the former going 0-2 after earning a contract on Season 7 of Dana White’s Contender Series, and the latter posting a 2-3 mark since getting the call to the Octagon on the season prior. On the whole, the team is 20-5 in the UFC, and could have ranked fighters in four divisions in a month’s time, should things go favorably for Silva in South Beach.
It’s insane what they’ve been able to accomplish collectively, and how several of them have been able to shine individually multiple times over as well.
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Which is why I’m telling you right now to remember the name Icaro Brito, because he’s the next Fighting Nerd we’re likely to hear from, and by all accounts, he’s every bit as talented as his successful teammates.
Quick Hitters
Ignacio Bahamondes declared himself a Top 15 lightweight and a dangerous threat wherever the fight takes place with his first-round submission win over Jalin Turner in the middle of Saturday’s main card. The Dana White’s Contender Series grad was calm and quick in attacking off his back, and has now earned three straight wins, all by stoppage, while collecting victories in six of his last seven as well. There will be a number next to his name later this week.
Amanda Lemos did what she needed to do to earn a victory, get herself back in the win column, and preserve her place in the Top 5 of the strawweight rankings. This was as much about the former title challenger knowing how to go out there and ensure she got a W as it was her opponent, Iasmin Lucindo, still being a little green and unable to adjust when things weren’t going her way.
Understanding how to win is a critical piece of the puzzle at the highest level, and while this one wasn’t exciting, Lemos secured the victory she came for and is likely to be back to her more aggressive ways next time out.
Joshua Van has already briefly been ranked in the flyweight division, should be back there again soon, and is showing all the signs of being a future contender in the 125-pound weight class. He’s logged seven appearances in 21 months, winning six of them, and is the kind of plus athlete with strong foundational skills that could very well make a jump into the title conversation in the next two years, if not sooner.
Bruno Ferreira doesn’t throw any rangefinders or work his way into top gear; he slings hammers, charges hard at all times, and thus far, it has been a largely effective strategy. “The Hulk” collected a second-round submission win over Armen Petrosyan that extended his record to 13-2 and maintained his 100 percent finishing rate, and is an outstanding all-action fixture in the “Second 15” at middleweight.
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Carlos Leal got hosed by the judges in his debut last October in Abu Dhabi, and made sure to keep them out of it on Saturday, walking down and finishing Alex Morono in the final minute of the opening round. The Brazilian isn’t your typical UFC sophomore — he’s 30 years old and is now 22-6 overall — and is someone that could get an expedited opportunity to work forward in the division after marching down and dispatching a divisional mainstay like Morono.
One Last Thing
Mark Smith took a point from Armen Petrosyan in the opening round of his bout with Brunno Ferreira for landing a pair of inadvertent low blows.
Somehow, this wasn’t met with universal approval, which was confusing to me because every event, whenever there is a foul, social media is alight with folks demanding that officials take points for fouls. Then when it happens, those same folks wax and wane about “was the first one that bad” and “should he have really taken a point there?”
This was absolutely the right call by Smith, as two groin shots, regardless of how heavy, in the span of a couple minutes, can unquestionably impact Ferreira’s ability to perform. Additionally, Petrosyan knows the rules, was reminded of them in the back before hand, and got a warning however many seconds it was before landing the second, more direct blow.
Personally, I want to see points taken right away, for all fouls, because everyone knows the rules and everyone is reminded of them in the back beforehand.
Don’t want to lose a point? Don’t grab the fence, kick someone below the belt, or poke them in the eye; the same goes for illegal strikes to downed opponents and clear shots to the back of the head, but that seems a little more self-evident.
Ultimately, I know being consistent is difficult, but if we’re going to moan every time an official doesn’t take a point for a second foul, we can’t be questioning Smith doing so here.
And with that, I’m out.
See you again after UFC 314.
UFC 313: Pereira vs Ankalaev took place live from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on March 8, 2025. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!
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