After eviscribing Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 320 in Las Vegas, Alex Pereira was only able to win the light-heavyweight title in a minute and 22 seconds.
Seven months prior to the Brazilian’s unanimous decision to defeat the Russian at UFC 313, he won.
Pereira, 38, wasted no time by connecting with a massive right hook after suffering a devastating defeat in March.
Before referee Herb Dean stopped the fight after a number of violent elbows to the head, the 33-year-old was stunned by the two-division champion’s striking right.
“Vengeance is never a good thing,” says the saying. No one believed what I said to everyone last time that I wasn’t in a good position, but tonight you saw it, Pereira said after winning.
I saw it in the first fight, so it didn’t surprise me. I don’t like to make excuses, but that night I wasn’t well.
Ankalaev was hoping to get his 13th win in a row, but only two of his seven notable strikes were successful for 25 of Pereira’s 37.
Pereira has quickly grown to become one of the promotion’s biggest stars, winning two division titles in just seven fights, a record-breaking feat since making his UFC debut in 2021.
Pereira moved up to light-heavyweight after claiming gold in his three fights in 2024, earning him the title of UFC fighter of the year along with Ilia Topuria.
Pereira had to put up his biggest test in the first fight against Ankalaev because the Russian had prevented the Brazilian from striking his massive strikes. However, Pereira did not have to worry the second time around, when he thudded the side of his opponent’s head head head head first.
Ankalaev ended the Brazilian’s three-year winning streak in the first encounter, but the former champion has now suffered a second defeat, his first since March 2018.
Pereira has plans to move up another weight class to heavyweight, according to UFC welterweight champion Dana White, despite reclaiming the light-heavyweight title he lost in March.
Pereira and his team informed White of his desire to switch to heavyweight before the rematch with Ankalaev. They claim to want to fight at heavyweight, but White advised that I put the focus on tonight first. We’ll see if there are any fights in this division.
“This guy has been a total stud.” He doesn’t care when he’s hurt, and he fights. He wants to advance to heavyweight and fight everyone. After tonight, there are many topics to discuss.
When asked what Pereira’s views on jumping two weight classes in the UFC were, White responded that “he was a middleweight; to jump up two weight classes in boxing is not like jumping up two weight classes.”
In the co-main event, Georgia’s Merab Dvalishvili won the bantamweight world title matchup unanimously over Cory Sandhagen from the USA.
The Georgian won 14 straight games, placing him third in UFC history with the longest win streak. Anderson Silva sits higher than Islam Makhachev and Kamaru Usman, respectively, at 15 years old.
The judges scored the fight 49-45 49-45 49-46 in favour of the champion.
I operate like a machine. I never stop improving. I put in a lot of effort. After the fight, Dvalishvili said, “I feel like I’m just beginning, I’m just starting and I keep learning.”
Dvalishvili, 34, had Sandhagen on the defense throughout the entirety of the fight.
In the opening round, Dvalishvili was not overawed and landed 23 of his 48 significant strikes, but a flurry of strikes from the Georgian made the situation worse when the game ended in the second round.
Published On 5 Oct 2025
With a first-round technical knockout (TKO) of the highly favored Magomed Ankalaev in Las Vegas, Alex Pereira reclaimed his undisputed light heavyweight title and made amends for his Russian defeat seven months prior, making it a boilover at Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) 320.
After dropping the 33-year-old champion with a massive right hook less than a minute into the T-Mobile Arena match, Pereira only managed one minute and 20 seconds to defeat Ankalaev.
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Before the match referee called off the match, the Brazilian then slammed the opponent with a flurry of punches and elbows.
Ankalaev, who had never lost a UFC match, made his promotional debut at a UFC Fight Night in March 2018 and made his comeback with a 14-match unbeaten streak.
Pereira was the undisputed underdog before the match, with Ankalaev receiving 89 percent of the BetMGM fight bets.
Ankalaev (20-2-1, 12-2-1 UFC) had already beaten Pereira (13-3, 10-2 UFC) in their first bout at UFC 313 on March 8. Pereira claimed that because of injury, he only fought 40 percent of his best combat skills.
With his victory, Pereira has won the UFC light heavyweight title twice.
The 38-year-old’s victory gives the division’s light heavyweight title a second chance, taking the belt from Ankalaev, who had little to offer hope for the division’s future. It opened the door for a third bout against Pereira for the belt with Jiri Prochazka also winning his bout by stunning knockout.
In their five-round fight, Merab Dvalishvili (21-4-0) defeated Cory Sandhagen (18-6-0) to defend his undisputed bantamweight title.
The three judges scored it for Dvalishvili: 49-45, 49-45 and 49-46.
Prochazka (32-5-1) and Khalil Rountree Jr. (135-7-0) fought it out for the most points in the main card’s most anticipated match. With two minutes left, the Czech fighter landed a devastating combination that instantly knocked out Rountree with a loss in the balance late in the third.
In the first round, which saw Prochazka clearly stumbling into the second, Rountree seized control by landing a number of high-calibre combinations in the first. Prochazka had a window with his third-round explosion, but the exchanges also made Rountree tired.
The Rugby Championship has been completed for a further year by the southern hemisphere sides.
South Africa won back-to-back titles for the first time when they defeated Argentina at Allianz Stadium in London on Saturday.
The opening four rounds saw the four teams each claim two victories in a thrilling tournament.
An Argentina side that defeated all three of their rivals for the first time in the Rugby Championship last year will be disappointed by two wins out of six.
For the first time since 2022, the Pumas, who entered the competition in 2012, came in at the bottom of the table this year.
Felipe Contepomi’s team’s highlight was a first-ever home victory over New Zealand in round two.
The biggest disappointment will be wasting a 14-point lead over Australia in round three, which they corrected the following week, as another victory would have prevented them from finishing fourth.
Financial advantages come with choosing to play the Springboks’ final home game at Allianz Stadium, but the city’s large, expat community in London gave them a leg.
Losing a two-test series against England in July had already put pressure on the outcome of the campaign.
Argentina, who play an exciting and quick style of rugby, needs to continue pushing forward with a significant result to have a realistic title charge.
Would the Australian tour of the British and Irish Lions be competitive? For the advancing Wallabies, that question has a good age.
After failing to reach the knockout stages of a rugby world cup for the first time in 2023, Joe Schmidt took over at their lowest level.
With victories over South Africa and Argentina, they finished third overall, which is an improvement on their previous two last-place finishes in a row.
With New Zealand playing the Wallabies in their final two matches following a record-loss by South Africa, their campaign forged toward a historic push to reclaim the Bledisloe Cup for the first time since 2002.
However, Schmidt was unable to remove the Bledisloe from the All Blacks, leading to his two-loss reign.
Even so, he succeeds Les Kiss as head coach, who is also in charge.
“I do believe the team is growing, and I can’t say for sure that will be linear, but I can pretty much guarantee that the effort will be there,” he said.
Max Jorgensen, a back-to-back three star, and Joseph Suaalii, a center, are dangerous attackers in tight spaces.
The All Blacks had won six of their previous seven Rugby Championships before Scott Robertson became the new Zealand head coach.
Robertson’s side fell short of South Africa for the second year in a row.
A positive aspect of Robertson’s use of 43 players this year keeps its November home games with the four home nations.
Leroy Carter made three wing starts, with No. 8 Peter Lakai, 22, making his debut in the black jersey.
Robertson is starting to add significant depth to his World Cup winning streak in 2027 while still defeating South Africa, Australia, and Argentina.
However, the All Blacks’ hopes of winning the title were hampered by their first defeat in Argentina and a shock record-setting defeat by the Springboks, which both proved unfavorable.
As Robertson switched from Damian McKenzie’s regular number 10 last year, Beauden Barrett, 34, started five of the six games at fly-half.
Richie Mo’unga, who won the World Cup final at fly-half two years ago, will have another chance to win.
Barrett, who has 142 caps, would have been in pole position to start the following World Cup, but he isn’t slowing down at the moment.
At the World Rugby Awards last year, South Africa was chosen as the men’s team of the year.
The world’s top-ranked team could win the title once more after winning back-to-back Rugby Championships.
The number of players that head coach Rassie Erasmus has used, though, is what makes the achievement even more remarkable.
He said, “I believe we had close to 47 players in our lineup, and I’d like to have given them more chances.”
The pressure was put on Erasmus by Australia and New Zealand’s defeats in the first three games, but the rewards were worth it given by the subsequent results.
Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 23, started all three of her victories, earning her the title in three games.
Highlight of Feinberg-Mngomezulu’s record 37 points against Argentina in Durban marked the start of Feinberg-Mngomezulu’s potential ascendancy at fly-half in November.
Canan Moodie, also 23, started outside center in the final three games while Ethan Hooker, 22, started the final three games on the left and produced a standout performance against New Zealand.
With the title in their hands, Erasmus lacked confidence in his young stars.
The Springboks’ World Cup winners’ hopes of playing again, especially in matches against France and Ireland, will now become heated up for the autumn.
Erasmus once said that he would rather win the World Cup than maintain an 85 percent win rate.
He has now created a squad that appears to be capable of both.
He continued, “I believe one of our goals is to stay in the present, perform well, and not just concentrate on the World Cup.”
The Rugby Championship has been completed for a further year by the southern hemisphere sides.
South Africa won back-to-back titles for the first time when they defeated Argentina at Allianz Stadium in London on Saturday.
The opening four rounds saw the four teams each claim two victories in a thrilling tournament.
An Argentina side that defeated all three of their rivals for the first time in the Rugby Championship last year will be disappointed by two wins out of six.
For the first time since 2022, the Pumas, who entered the competition in 2012, came in at the bottom of the table this year.
Felipe Contepomi’s team’s highlight was a first-ever home victory over New Zealand in round two.
The biggest disappointment will be wasting a 14-point lead over Australia in round three, which they corrected the following week, as another victory would have prevented them from finishing fourth.
Financial advantages come with choosing to play the Springboks’ final home game at Allianz Stadium, but the city’s large, expat community in London gave them a leg.
Losing a two-test series against England in July had already put pressure on the outcome of the campaign.
Argentina, who play an exciting and quick style of rugby, needs to continue pushing forward with a significant result to have a realistic title charge.
Would the Australian tour of the British and Irish Lions be competitive? For the advancing Wallabies, that question has a good age.
After failing to reach the knockout stages of a rugby world cup for the first time in 2023, Joe Schmidt took over at their lowest level.
With victories over South Africa and Argentina, they finished third overall, which is an improvement on their previous two last-place finishes in a row.
With New Zealand playing the Wallabies in their final two matches following a record-loss by South Africa, their campaign forged toward a historic push to reclaim the Bledisloe Cup for the first time since 2002.
However, Schmidt was unable to remove the Bledisloe from the All Blacks, leading to his two-loss reign.
Even so, he succeeds Les Kiss as head coach, who is also in charge.
“I do believe the team is growing, and I can’t say for sure that will be linear, but I can pretty much guarantee that the effort will be there,” he said.
Max Jorgensen, a back-to-back three star, and Joseph Suaalii, a center, are dangerous attackers in tight spaces.
The All Blacks had won six of their previous seven Rugby Championships before Scott Robertson became the new Zealand head coach.
Robertson’s side fell short of South Africa for the second year in a row.
A positive aspect of Robertson’s use of 43 players this year keeps its November home games with the four home nations.
Leroy Carter made three wing starts, with No. 8 Peter Lakai, 22, making his debut in the black jersey.
Robertson is starting to add significant depth to his World Cup winning streak in 2027 while still defeating South Africa, Australia, and Argentina.
However, the All Blacks’ hopes of winning the title were hampered by their first defeat in Argentina and a shock record-setting defeat by the Springboks, which both proved unfavorable.
As Robertson switched from Damian McKenzie’s regular number 10 last year, Beauden Barrett, 34, started five of the six games at fly-half.
Richie Mo’unga, who won the World Cup final at fly-half two years ago, will have another chance to win.
Barrett, who has 142 caps, would have been in pole position to start the following World Cup, but he isn’t slowing down at the moment.
At the World Rugby Awards last year, South Africa was chosen as the men’s team of the year.
The world’s top-ranked team could win the title once more after winning back-to-back Rugby Championships.
The number of players that head coach Rassie Erasmus has used, though, is what makes the achievement even more remarkable.
He said, “I believe we had close to 47 players in our lineup, and I’d like to have given them more chances.”
The pressure was put on Erasmus by Australia and New Zealand’s defeats in the first three games, but the rewards were worth it given by the subsequent results.
Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 23, started all three of her victories, earning her the title in three games.
Highlight of Feinberg-Mngomezulu’s record 37 points against Argentina in Durban marked the start of Feinberg-Mngomezulu’s potential ascendancy at fly-half in November.
Canan Moodie, also 23, started outside center in the final three games while Ethan Hooker, 22, started the final three games on the left and produced a standout performance against New Zealand.
With the title in their hands, Erasmus lacked confidence in his young stars.
The Springboks’ World Cup winners’ hopes of playing again, especially in matches against France and Ireland, will now become heated up for the autumn.
Erasmus once said that he would rather win the World Cup than maintain an 85 percent win rate.
He has now created a squad that appears to be capable of both.
He continued, “I believe one of our goals is to stay in the present, perform well, and not just concentrate on the World Cup.”