The first with the second: how Russian fighter Ankalaev entered the history of MMA

Russian Magomed Ankalaev won the 20th victory of his career, defeating Brazilian Alex Pereira in the main match of the UFC 313 tournament in Paradise (Nevada, USA). The fight for the light heavyweight title lasted all five rounds and ended with a score 49:46, 48:47, 48:47. As a result, 32-year-old Ankalaev became the new UFC champion, taking the belt of the world's most popular promotion on the second attempt.

Equal Start

The Brazilian was facing his fourth belt defense. Pereira won it in November 2023, when he knocked out Jiri Prohazka in the second round. Before that, Alex managed to take the middleweight title and lose it, and in the light heavyweight division, he defeated Jan Blachowicz by split decision. Before Ankalaev, Pereira defended the belt against Jamal Hill, Jiri Prokhazka in a rematch and Khalil Rowntree.

For Magomed, this fight was his second attempt to become a champion — in December 2022, the fight for the vacant title against Jan Blachowicz ended in a draw. The indistinct fight disappointed Dana White and he did not give a second chance to either Blakhovich or Ankalaev. After that match, the Russian entered the cage three times. His first fight with Johnny Walker was ruled invalid due to a prohibited knee strike. In the rematch, Magomed knocked out the Brazilian, and then convinced everyone to give him a title fight thanks to his victory over Alexander Rakic by decision of the judges. Before the fight with Pereira, Ankalaev's unbeaten streak was 12 fights, excluding the first fight with Walker.

The fight began with numerous low kicks from Pereira on Ankalaev's right leg. There was no obvious number one in the duel: both kept their distance and sometimes pushed. After one of the low kicks, Ankalaev tried to throw a combination, but failed. By the middle of the segment, Magomed began to increase the pace and throw punches more often, but the fight was still very slow. Pereira threw a powerful high kick, which Ankalaev saw and blocked. During the last minute, the Russian cautiously walked forward and in the end, for the first time, he tried to take a takedown, but it didn't work out, Alex caught on to the clinch. That was the end of the first five minutes.

At the start of the second round, Ankalaev continued to act more actively. He did a good front kick to the body, to which Pereira responded with a high kick. Magomed broke the distance well and delivered a side kick that wasn't very powerful. After another high kick from Pereira, Magomed made a great counterattack and shook his opponent slightly. The fighters even cut themselves down a bit — everything looked dangerous for both of them. Ankalaev delivered more blows, and 4 seconds before the siren, he shocked the Brazilian so much that he almost fell. Magomed tried to finish it off, but the round ended.

In the third segment, Ankalaev continued his cautious pressure, forcing Pereira to retreat. The Russian hit more often and more accurately, Alex responded with low kicks, trying to smash Ankalaev's right leg. Magomed's second takedown failed again — Pereira responded with an elbow from the clinch. Two minutes before the end, the fighters were in the clinch again, and Pereira unsuccessfully tried to hook his opponent. In the corner, the Russian was given very precise hints, thanks to which he made several successful hits. A couple of seconds before the siren, Ankalaev threw a high kick, but could not shake his opponent.

Raise your hands

In the very first seconds of the fourth round, Ankalaev went to his feet again, but after several attempts he still did not move Pereira. For the entire first half, Magomed controlled Alex in a clinch at the net - this lasted until Goddard returned the fighters to the center of the cage. Pereira kicked well, Ankalaev responded with punches and once again tried to convert his opponent, who once again stood up. Magomed tied Pereira in the clinch again, and at the same time as the siren, Alex still hooked the Russian, but the round ended immediately.

At the beginning of the final round, Ankalaev made a good hand combination. Pereira started working as the first number. In the middle of the segment, the Brazilian played a cool high kick, but Magomed was not shaken by this blow. The Russian tried to transfer Pereira again, but once again he did not allow himself to be dropped. Then Magomed tried to go behind him to make a throw, but Alex was also impregnable here. At the end of the fight, Ankalaev worked his knee on his legs, and the fight ended.

The fight turned out to be very close, and the rounds could be counted both in favor of Ankalaev and in favor of Pereira. Sukhrab Magomedov said to Magomed before the announcement of the decision: "Raise your hands! We won!" Ankalaev obeyed and went to the referee. The judges unanimously decided that Ankalaev had won.: 49:46, 48:47, 48:47.

"Words can't convey, I've been walking for so long, and now my dream is upon me," Ankalaev said after the fight, pointing to the belt. — I could have fought better, but somehow it went wrong, you can say. As it is, I am very glad. Dagestan, the Caucasus, Russia - now we have another belt!

Magomed Ankalaev became the fifth UFC champion from Russia. Oleg Taktarov, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Peter Yan and Islam Makhachev have previously won the title.

— Congratulations, brother, you have made history. It was an amazing performance against a very strong opponent," Khabib Nurmagomedov wrote on social media.

Magomed has now equaled Demetrius Johnson (14) in the number of consecutive undefeated fights in UFC history. The leader in this indicator is John John, who has 19 consecutive wins. Anderson Silva is in second place (16), Kamaru Usman and Islam Makhachev share the third place (15 each).