Primary contender Magomed Ankalaev upsets UFC mild heavyweight champion Alex Pereira in the primary occasion in Las Vegas.
Magomed Ankalaev scored a shocking upset with a unanimous choice to take Alex Pereira’s undisputed mild heavyweight belt at UFC 313 in Las Vegas.
All three judges scored in favour of Ankalaev (21-1-1) within the Saturday evening conflict, with scores of 29-26 and two at 28-27.
Ankalaev fought a tactical, measured bout to unseat Pereira, who struggled to generate alternatives within the Octagon to unleash his signature left hook in opposition to the Dagestan fighter.
“I knew it could be a struggle,” mentioned Pereira (12-3-0). “Each battle of mine is a struggle.”
Pereira’s loss to Ankalaev ends a extremely publicised streak of three title defenses inside the final 12 months, a stretch that noticed the 37-year-old grow to be arguably the largest star within the sport. A win would have made Pereira the second-fastest fighter to 4 title defenses in UFC historical past.
Within the co-main occasion, the quantity three-ranked light-weight and fan favorite Justin Gaethje (27-5-0) earned a unanimous choice over quantity 11 Rafael Fiziev (12-4-0).
Gaethje was scheduled to battle Dan Hooker, who pulled out due to a hand harm. Gaethje dropped Fiziev with a stiff proper uppercut within the second spherical.
