UFC 313 Preview
The UFC is invading the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday March 8th for UFC 313. The main event will be in the light heavyweight division as champion Alex Pereira will defend his belt against #1 Magomed Ankalaev.
Pereira the former middleweight champion is looking to defend the 205 pound belt for the fourth time in just over a year. He is coming off a fourth round TKO of Khalil Rountree at UFC 307 in October. The Brazilian fighter has won five straight since being KO’d by Israel Adesanya at UFC 287 in 2023 where he lost the middleweight title.
The 37-year-old has already put together a hall of fame career in just 10 fights in the UFC. How does he feel about his meteoric rise? "I honestly didn't expect all of this, but I've always said that you got to be ready and you got to take your opportunities, and that's exactly what I did," Pereira said.
"I'm just a very focused guy, and I feel like I've had a lot of growth. I've had a lot of improvement and, thankfully, I was able to put in a great year like last year.”
Pereira’s to brutal punching power and ability to finish fights has quickly made him become a fan-favorite. He does not take it for granted. "I'm very grateful for all the love I get from the fans," he said.
"I feel like I'm very welcome everywhere I go, and everyone wants to just really treat me very well anywhere I go. “
He concluded, "But this is the highest level of the sport. A lot of people are trying to get to this position, so I'm just really grateful.”
Aside from his last fight against Rountree, Pereira has key wins over Jiri Prochazka (twice), Jamahal Hill, Jan Blachowicz, Isreal Adesanya, and Sean Strickland.
Ankalaev has not lost since 2018 and is 11-0-2 in that span. He fought for the vacant light heavyweight belt at UFC 282 but suffered a draw against former champion Jan Blachowicz. Since then he has collected wins over Johnny Walker and most recently against Aleksandr Rakic at UFC 308 in October.
How does the Dagestani fighter feel about Pereira? “He’s a great fighter. What can I say?” he said.
“He's achieved a lot. He's a champion. He's defended his belt two or three times. But I think his time is up, that's it, because he's never fought somebody like myself.”
Many people are saying Ankalaev poses a difficult challenge to Pereira because of his grappling abilities. How does he feel he matches up? “I’m going to be a very new challenge for him. I'm going to get this belt. And I think after my fight, he's done.”
Ankalaev continued, “If we take out the striking completely, we know exactly what we can do with him in just the wrestling department, but that's not what we're here for,” he said.
“We're going to show our striking. We're going to show our wrestling. We're going to do whatever we can to make sure to get this belt.
“We don't have a specific strategy to just wrestle, and that's it. We're gonna make sure to find weak points, attack it, and that's the way to get the victory.”
The 31-year-old feels destined to be a champion. “It’s a dream,” he said.
“This is something I've worked for, my team worked for, for a long time. This is the last step, this is the last thing I have to do, feel (the belt) around my waist and call myself the world champion (and) know how it feels.”
He concluded, “I think it would be really good for the UFC to have me as a champion, because I'm not going to be the kind of champion that you have to protect,” he said.
“I’m going to be fighting with whoever throws the challenges out. I'm going to be active. I'm going to defend the belt as many times as I can.”
The rest of the main card:
155 lbs.: Justin Gaethje vs. Rafael Fiziev 2
155 lbs.: Ignacio Bahamondes vs. Jalin Turner
115 lbs.: Amanda Lemos vs. Iasmin Lucindo
155 lbs.: King Green vs. Mauricio Ruffy
ESPN+ Prelims:
265 lbs.: Curtis Blaydes vs. Rizvan Kuniev
125 lbs.: Joshua Van vs. Rei Tsuruya
185 lbs.: Brunno Ferreira vs. Armen Petrosyan
170 lbs.: Carlos Leal vs. Alex Morono
ESPN+/UFC FIGHT PASS Early Prelims:
145 lbs.: Francis Marshall vs. Mairon Santos
185 lbs.: Djorden Santos vs. Ozzy Diaz
145 lbs.: Chris Gutierrez vs. John Castaneda
