Fan favorite Alex Pereira dethroned Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 320, taking the light heavyweight championship with a first-round stoppage Saturday night.
Fan favorite Alex Pereira dethroned Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 320, taking the light heavyweight championship with a first-round stoppage Saturday night.
Pereira (13-3-0) floored Ankalaev (21-2-1) after hurting him with a huge right hand and quickly went to work using thunderous elbows during a ground-and-pound before referee Herb Dean stepped in to stop the bout at the 1:20 mark.
Pereira brought an end to Ankalaev’s 14-match unbeaten streak, while exacting revenge for a loss in the fighters’ first meeting in March.
“I wasn’t well that night, but tonight I was very well,” Pereira said through his translator.
Pereira lost to Ankalaev by unanimous decision on March 8, when the judges graded the fight on aggressiveness. This time, Pereira wasted no time in attacking Ankalaev with relentless pressure.
The 38-year-old Brazilian landed 28 of the 45 significant strike attempts, while Ankalaev, 33, was only able to land four of his nine attempts.
