Pereira vs Ankalaev

Who won Pereira vs Ankalaev?

Magomed Ankalaev beat Alex Pereira by unanimous decision in their 5 round contest during the main event of UFC 313, on Saturday 8th March 2025 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

The scorecards were announced as 49-46, 48-47, 48-47 in favor of the winner Magomed Ankalaev.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 5 rounds in the Light Heavyweight division, which meant the weight limit was 205 pounds (14.6 stone or 93 KG).

This contest was for the UFC Light Heavyweight championship.

Pereira vs Ankalaev stats

Alex Pereira stepped into the octagon with a record of 12 wins, 2 losses and 0 draws, 10 of those wins coming by the way of knock out.

Magomed Ankalaev made his way to the cage with a record of 19 wins, 1 loss and 1 draw, 10 of those wins coming by knock out.

This was Alex Pereira's 11th fight in the UFC, having made his debut for the promotion in 2021. Magomed Ankalaev marked his 15th fight for them, having made his own debut for the promotion in 2018.

Alex Pereira's UFC record stood at 9-2-0, while Magomed Ankalaev's came in at 12-1-1.

The stats suggested Pereira had a large advantage in power over Ankalaev, boasting a 83% knock out percentage over Ankalaev's 53%.

If the fight went to the ground, their records suggested that Pereira and Ankalaev would have been pretty equal, both with a 0% submission rate.

Alex Pereira was the older man by 5 years, at 37 years old.

Pereira had a height advantage of 1 inch over Ankalaev. That also extended to a 5-inch reach advantage.

Pereira was the less experienced professional fighter, having had 7 fewer fights, and made his debut in 2015, 1 year and 9 months later than Ankalaev, whose first professional fight was in 2014. He had fought 23 less professional rounds, 37 to Ankalaev's 60.

Pereira vs Ankalaev form

Pereira had won all 5 of his most recent fights, stopping 4 opponents and going to the judges once.

In his last fight leading up to this contest, he had won against Khalil Rountree at UFC 307 on 5th October 2024 by knockout in the 4th round in their UFC Light Heavyweight championship fight at Vivint Arena, Salt Lake City, United States.

Previous to that, he had beaten Jiri Prochazka at UFC 303 on 29th June 2024 by knockout in the 2nd round in their UFC Light Heavyweight championship fight at T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas.

Going into that contest, he had defeated Jamahal Hill at UFC 300 on 13th April 2024 by knockout in the 1st round in their UFC Light Heavyweight championship fight at T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas.

Before that, he was victorious against Jiri Prochazka at UFC 295 on 11th November 2023 by knockout in the 2nd round in their UFC Light Heavyweight championship fight at Madison Square Garden, New York City.

He had won against Jan Blachowicz at UFC 291 on 29th July 2023 by split decision in their 3 round contest at Vivint Arena, Salt Lake City.

Ankalaev had beaten 3 of his last 5 opponents, stopping 2 of them, going the distance once.

In his last fight before this contest, he had beaten Johnny Walker at UFC Fight Night: Ankalaev vs. Walker on 13th January 2024 by knockout in the 2nd round at UFC Apex, Las Vegas, United States.

Previous to that, his fight against Johnny Walker at UFC 294 on 21st October 2023 ended in a no contest.

Going into that contest, he had drawn with Jan Blachowicz at UFC 282 on 10th December 2022 by split draw in their 5 round contest in their UFC Light Heavyweight championship fight at T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, United States.

Before that, he had defeated Anthony Smith at UFC 277 on 30th July 2022 by knockout in the 2nd round at Madison Square Garden, New York City.

He was victorious against Thiago Santos at UFC Fight Night on 12th March 2022 by unanimous decision in their 5 round contest at UFC APEX, Las Vegas.

Activity check

In terms of activity leading into the fight, Alex Pereira had been fighting more than Magomed Ankalaev.

Going to this contest, Alex Pereira had last fought 5 months and 7 days ago, while Magomed Ankalaev's last outing had been 1 year, 1 month and 27 days ago.

Pereira's last 5 fights had come over a period of 1 year, 7 months and 11 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 3 months and 28 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 12 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 2.4 rounds on average.

Ankalaev's last 5 fights had come over a period of 3 years, meaning he had been fighting on average every 7 months and 7 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 15 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 3 rounds on average.

What time did Pereira vs Ankalaev start?

The fighters were expected to walk out at around 5:25 AM UTC , which was 12:25 AM EST or 9:25 PM PST on the West Coast of America, or 5:25 AM GMT in the UK.

What were the odds on Pereira vs Ankalaev?

Alex Pereira was a 4/5 (-130) favourite going into the contest, while Magomed Ankalaev made his way into the ring at 21/20 (+100) with oddsmakers.