UFC 313 was held over the weekend in Las Vegas, Nevada, and it had all the action you’d expect from a fight night in Vegas. The fight card featured two intense bouts with very exciting outcomes, including one title loss.
For the first fight, champion Alex Pereira was defending the light heavyweight title against Magomed Ankalaev, the number one contender. Pereira had been on a successful run before the fight, having claimed the vacant title in 2023 and defending it multiple times. However, Ankalaev presented a different challenge, partly owing to his strong wrestling background.
The fight was too close to call from the start, with both fighters unrelenting at every point. Ankalaev was in control for most of the fight, keeping Pereira on the defensive with some of his wrestling moves. In the second round, Ankalaev rattled Pereira with a strike, and this set the tone for the rest of the match. Even with Pereira’s efforts to launch a counterattack, Ankalaev’s strategy paid off as he managed to keep Pereira against the cage and land effective strikes in the later rounds.
In the end, Ankalaev’s performance earned him a unanimous decision victory with scores of 49-46, 48-47, and 48-47, and he was crowned as the new champion of the light heavyweight division.
The co-main event featured Justin Gaethje in a rematch against Rafael Fiziev, who stepped in as a replacement after Dan Hooker pulled out of the match.
The match lived up to its billing as an action-packed contest. Gaethje and Fiziev were locked in a fierce battle that took every bit of strength they had. In Round 2, Gaethje landed a right-handed uppercut that sent Fiziev to the ground, allowing him to deliver several more strikes before Fiziev regained his footing. Fiziev showed signs of fatigue in the final round, but he managed to push through and finish the fight on his feet.
Gaethje won the match with a unanimous decision, all three judges scoring the fight 29-28 in his favor. Post-fight, Gaethje mentioned that he might have suffered a broken hand during the bout. This win marked Gaethje’s second victory over Fiziev, following their first encounter in 2023.
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