Magomed Ankalaev News

Harry Kettle - March 10, 2025

UFC champion Magomed Ankalaev has given fans an idea of when he might return to the Octagon to defend his light heavyweight crown. Last Saturday night, Magomed Ankalaev finally reached the top of the mountain. He defeated Alex Pereira to capture the UFC light heavyweight championship, which is the goal he’s been working towards for his entire career. Now, he can call himself the new king, with many wondering whether or not there will be an immediate rematch.

Harry Kettle - March 10, 2025

UFC star Israel Adesanya has given his thoughts on what went down between Alex Pereira and Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 313. Last Saturday night, Alex Pereira failed to successfully defend his UFC light heavyweight championship for the fourth time. Instead, he was beaten by challenger Magomed Ankalaev in what proved to be a pretty competitive fight in Las Vegas. Alas, when it was all said and done, ‘Poatan’ was left without the belt that he’d worked so hard to keep.

Harry Kettle - March 10, 2025

Former champion Jamahal Hill has reacted to criticism over his views on the Alex Pereira vs Magomed Ankalaev fight. Last Saturday night, Alex Pereira came up short against Magomed Ankalaev. After an electric run through the light heavyweight division, he tasted his first defeat at 205 pounds at the hands of the new champion Ankalaev. Now, it’s time for him to go back to the drawing board and figure out what exactly he wants to do next.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - March 9, 2025

Daniel Cormier believes he knows how Magomed Ankalaev found success in the standup against Alex Pereira. Ankalaev is the newly-minted UFC Light Heavyweight Champion following UFC 313. He defeated Pereira via unanimous decision inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Ankalaev was able to make “Poatan” hesitate throughout the fight. This became clear following the end of round two, which saw Ankalaev land a punch that sent Pereira into the Octagon cage.

Harry Kettle - March 9, 2025

UFC sensation Alex Pereira has reflected on his defeat to Magomed Ankalaev in the UFC 313 main event last night. For the longest time, Alex Pereira has been one of the biggest stars in all of mixed martial arts. Last night, he came up against arguably his toughest test to date – Magomed Ankalaev. In what was a competitive, tight affair, it was Ankalaev who was able to get his hand raised with a decision victory.

Harry Kettle - March 9, 2025

UFC champion Magomed Ankalaev has sent a message to Alex Pereira following his victory over the Brazilian at UFC 313 last night. On Saturday night, Magomed Ankalaev made his dreams come true. He was able to defeat Alex Pereira in a contest that, in the eyes of many, didn’t quite live up to the hype. Alas, Ankalaev went out there and did his job, which is all you can really ask for.

Chris Taylor - March 8, 2025

Tonight’s UFC 313 event was headlined by a light heavyweight title fight featuring Alex Pereira taking on Magomed Ankalaev. Pereira (12-3 MMA) was returing to action for the first time since scoring a fourth-round TKO victory over Khalil Rountree Jr. at October’s UFC 307 event (see that here). That victory had marked ‘Poatan’s’ third defense of the 205lbs title, as he had previously defeated Jiri Prochazka (x2) and Jamahal Hill.

Chris Taylor - March 8, 2025

We have you covered for all of tonight’s UFC 313 results, including the light heavyweight title fight between Alex Pereira and Magomed Ankalaev. Pereira (12-2 MMA) will be competing for the first time since scoring a fourth-round TKO victory over Khalil Rountree Jr. at October’s UFC 307 event (see that here). That victory marked ‘Poatan’s’ third defense of the 205lbs title, as he previously defeated Jiri Prochazka (twice) and Jamahal Hill.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - March 7, 2025

The UFC 313 weigh-ins are in the books and we officially have ourselves a world title fight. The main event of Saturday’s card will feature a UFC Light Heavyweight Championship bout between titleholder Alex Pereira and Magomed Ankalaev. Both men tipped the scales on Friday and made championship weight. That means the showdown between “Poatan” and Ankalaev will indeed take place inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Josh Evanoff - March 6, 2025

Light-heavyweight contender Magomed Ankalaev has fired shots at Alex Pereira ahead of their UFC 313 headliner. The Russian is set to challenge for UFC gold for the second time in his career on Saturday night. Back for the first time since handing Aleksandar Rakic a unanimous decision loss in October, Magomed Ankalaev will finally face Alex Pereira. The challenger will enter the bout on a staggering 13-fight unbeaten streak, but is currently a slight betting underdog.

Cole Shelton - March 5, 2025

In the main event of UFC 313, the light heavyweight title is up for grabs as Alex Pereira defends his strap against Magomed Ankalaev. Heading into the fight, Pereira is a -120 favorite while the challenger is a -106 underdog on FanDuel. Ahead of the scrap, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro-fighters to get their predictions for the light heavyweight fight. The pros are unanimous in thinking Alex Pereira will be able to get the win and defend his belt against Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 313, and likely doing so by knockout.

Josh Evanoff - March 5, 2025

Israel Adesanya has offered his take on the UFC 313 main event between Alex Pereira and Magomed Ankalaev. ‘Poatan’ will return to the cage on Saturday night in Las Vegas. Back for the first time since a fourth-round knockout win over Khalil Rountree in October, Alex Pereira will meet the rising Magomed Ankalaev. For his part, the Russian will enter his second UFC title fight riding a staggering 13-fight unbeaten streak.

BJ Penn Staff - March 5, 2025

Jamahal Hill has made his pick for the upcoming UFC light heavyweight title fight between champion Alex Pereira and challenger Magomed Ankalaev. Pereira and Ankalaev’s title fight will headline the UFC 313 show in Las Vegas this Saturday. The Brazilian (and secretly English-speaking) champion has evolved into one of the most dominant forces in all of MMA, but many people believe the Russian challenger, who is dangerous on the feet and on the mat, could have the perfect style to take the throne.

Harry Kettle - March 5, 2025

Robert Whittaker has urged Magomed Ankalaev to use his wrestling in his huge title fight against Alex Pereira at UFC 313 this weekend. On Saturday night, Magomed Ankalaev will challenge Alex Pereira for the UFC light heavyweight championship. As we know, this is easily the biggest fight of his career to date. He’s been in there with some tough guys in the past, but nobody quite like ‘Poatan’.

BJ Penn Staff - March 4, 2025

UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira is usually only heard speaking Portuguese. However, he has still managed to catch on with fans all over the world with his incredible Octagon performances and enigmatic personality outside the cage. Some things just transcend language. While Pereira is not known for speaking English, it turns out he’s made quite a bit of progress with the language — enough that former UFC welterweight champ Kamaru Usman was seemingly caught off guard by it.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - March 4, 2025

One future UFC Hall of Famer doesn’t want to see Magomed Ankalaev strike with Alex Pereira. Ankalaev will challenge “Poatan” for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship. The big talking point going into the UFC 313 main event on March 8 is whether or not Pereira can thwart the takedowns of his next challenger. Ankalaev is well-rounded, but it’s his grappling that many believe will be a stern test for Pereira.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - March 3, 2025

Alex Pereira believes the MMA world will get to witness just how good his grappling is at UFC 313. Pereira is set to put his UFC Light Heavyweight Championship at stake against Magomed Ankalaev this Saturday night. The title fight will headline UFC 313 inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. A big talking point going into the fight is whether or not “Poatan” can thwart the grappling of Ankalaev.

Harry Kettle - February 9, 2025

Magomed Ankalaev has gone off on Alex Pereira in a series of tweets ahead of their title showdown at UFC 313 next month. In just a matter of weeks, Magomed Ankalaev will get his shot at glory. He will challenge Alex Pereira for the UFC light heavyweight championship, with many believing this matchup has been a long time coming. Of course, he’s already had one crack at the belt before, falling short in a draw against Jan Blachowicz. That result, in many ways, set off a chain reaction that changed the face of the division at 205 pounds.