UFC 320: Pereira stuns Ankalaev with TKO to regain light heavyweight title

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.

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.