Alex Pereira regained his light-heavyweight title from Magomed Ankalaev in shocking fashion at UFC 320, stopping the Russian in the very first round.
Alex Pereira needed barely over one minute to score a TKO, having backed Ankalaev up to the fence in an aggressive start. The Brazilian star, famed for his power, stunned Ankalaev with a right hook, forcing the champion into a desperate takedown attempt.
But Alex Pereira, 38, denied the 33-year-old and poured on ground and pound in the form of numerous hammer fists and elbows. That led referee Herb Dean to step in and wave off the contest, as “Poatan” earned his vengeance.
Back in March, Ankalaev outpointed Pereira to take the 205lb crown from the fan favourite, but the Russian’s reign proved short-lived, coming to an abrupt end at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas – where the rivals first duelled, in fact.
And in Saturday’s co-main event, Merab Dvalishvili outpointed Cory Sandhagen to retain his bantamweight belt for the third time, with all of those defences taking place in a 10-month span.
The Georgian, 34, implemented his wrestling prowess and relentless cardio to secure scorecards of 49-45, 49-45, 49-46, earning a 10-8 scorecard in the eyes of two judges – having almost stopped Sandhagen with a surprising, prolonged barrage of punches in the second frame.
Sandhagen, 33, started well and repeatedly stood after being taken down, but the American could not mount enough significant offence across five rounds. Ultimately, Dvalishvili scored his 14th straight win, leaving him within three of the outright UFC record.