Quick results
Main Card (10 p.m. ET) (PPV)
- Magomed Ankalaev def. Alex Pereira via Decision, Unanimous (UFC Light Heavyweight Championship)
- Justin Gaethje def. Rafael Fiziev via Decision, Unanimous
- Ignacio Bahamondes def. Jalin Turner via Submission, Triangle Choke (RD 1, 2:29)
- Amanda Lemos def. Iasmin Lucindo via Decision, Unanimous
- Mauricio Ruffy def. King Green via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 2:07)
Preliminary Card (8 p.m. ET) (ESPNews / ESPN+)
- Joshua Van def. Rei Tsuruya via Decision, Unanimous
- Brunno Ferreira def. Armen Petrosyan via Submission, Armbar (RD 2, 4:27)
- Carlos Leal def. Alex Morono via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 4:16)
- Mairon Santos def. Francis Marshall via Decision, Split
Early Prelims (6:30 p.m. ET) (ESPN+ / UFC Fight Pass)
- Ozzy Diaz def. Djorden Santos via Decision, Unanimous
Magomed Ankalaev deploys diverse gameplan to dethrone Alex Pereira
Magomed Ankalaev put an end to Alex Pereira’s dominant reign on top of the UFC light heavyweight division, fighting five hard rounds to grab a unanimous decision win and claim the division’s title.
Ankalaev mixed striking with grappling to bank rounds against Pereira, earning a win in the main event of UFC 313 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, this weekend.
After a slow opening few minutes which went the way of Pereira – who chipped away at the legs of Ankalaev with kicks – the challenger put together a trio of rounds which led him to a scorecard win.
Ankalaev did his best work in the second round, connecting frequently with his left hand as part of boxing combinations. Pereira had a worrying stumble late in the round after eating a shot, with his knees wobbling as he backed up from the blow.
The third round of the fight was easily the closest, but it was an essential one for Ankalaev to earn if he planned on winning via decision. Ankalaev continued to land against Pereira, advancing on the champ, although Pereira was able to respond with a fair amount of his own shots, including 15 more kicks to the legs of Ankalaev, per UFC’s official stats.
After primarily keeping the fight as a stand-up battle, Ankalaev started utilizing clinch positions to control the bout in the fourth round. He kept Pereira against the cage for a little under four of the round’s five minutes, allowing him to chip away with strikes and limit the champ’s output.
Ankalaev had earned the necessary three rounds needed to win on scorecards with just five minutes to go. He survived a competitive final round from Pereira, which ended up not being enough to earn the champ a decision win.
“I can’t even put it into words,” Ankalaev said through an interpreter in his post-fight interview. “It’s been such a long way. And here’s my dream, it’s on my waist.”
It certainly was a long time coming for Ankalaev, who had gone undefeated since late 2018 and attained a dozen UFC wins en route to his title victory this weekend. Saturday marked his second chance at light heavyweight gold, being given another championship opportunity two years after his five-round draw result against Jan Blachowicz at UFC 282.
The 32-year-old is now the only Russian champion above the 155-pound limit in UFC history and is the second active Russian champ alongside current lightweight king Islam Makhachev.
Saturday’s result marked the end of an impressive run for Pereira. He defended his light heavyweight title three times in 2024, making him the most successful 205-pound fighter since Jon Jones departed the division in 2020.
The 37-year-old mentioned his intent to keep competing following the major setback.
“I’m going to keep training … I’m going to take a few days off, then I’m going to keep training,” Pereira said through an interpreter. “This is my life.”
Pereira’s run in the UFC has been quite a busy one overall. It was just over three years ago that he joined the promotion following a successful kickboxing career, transitioning seamlessly into the sport of MMA. He has since attained two title reigns, headlined seven pay-per-view cards, and picked up nine wins.
Justin Gaethje returns with impressive win over Rafael Fiziev
Justin Gaethje had a triumphant return in the co-main event of Saturday’s card, out-landing Rafael Fiziev in a fan-friendly three-round battle to earn a unanimous decision nod.
In his first performance since suffering a brutal loss to Max Holloway, Gaethje proved that he’s still the same tough, durable, brawling fighter.
Gaethje had a slow start to the fight, allowing Fiziev to gain a one-round lead after five minutes. Fiziev earned a pair of takedowns on Gaethje early on, allowing him to score with elbows while briefly in top position. He later also proved to be effective in the clinch, landing knees against Gaethje.
Gaethje turned things up in the second round, upping his output on the feet and beginning to out-strike Fiziev. The former title challenger had his best moment in the second round, sending Fiziev tumbling with a right uppercut to the head.
While Fiziev continued to have solid moments late in the fight, notably showcasing a varied attack by going to the body of Gaethje frequently along with the head, it was Gaethje’s activity and accuracy on the feet which earned him the third round on scorecards and thus gave him the win. Gaethje had a strong finish to the fight, continuing to press Fiziev with shots until the bout concluded.
Gaethje was appearing for the first time since he was on the wrong side of a “Knockout of the Year” contender against Holloway at UFC 300. Before then, he had a stoppage win against Dustin Poirier and a 2023 majority decision victory over Fiziev.
Gaethje was originally scheduled to meet New Zealander Dan Hooker this weekend in a five-round co-main event. However, after Hooker withdrew due to a hand injury last week, Fiziev stepped in with a little over a week to prepare.
“He really changed his tactics from the last fight … 12 days notice, for him to not get completely exhausted, he deserves so much credit,” Gaethje said about Fiziev afterward.
Fiziev was appearing for the first time since September 2023, when a leg injury caused him to suffer a loss against Mateusz Gamrot and put him on the shelf for all of 2024.
Ignacio Bahamondes adds yet another quick win to his record
Ignacio Bahamondes once again delivered on a quick performance, slipping in a triangle choke on Jalin Turner to secure a first-round submission victory.
Bahamondes made the most out of being on his back, a position he found himself in after Turner reversed a takedown attempt. After staying active with elbows from the bottom, Bahamondes locked up a triangle choke, which forced a tap from Turner.
The win on Saturday was a change of pace for Bahamondes in comparison to recent appearances. In 2024, he earned a pair of Performance of the Night knockout wins, stopping Christos Giagos with a head kick and then finishing Manuel Torres at UFC’s Sphere card.
“I knew I was going to submit him … Sometimes it’s not your best day and you need to make your 60 percent a 100, and that’s what I did today,” Chile’s Bahamondes said in his post-fight interview.
27-year-old Bahamondes now has an impressive six wins and two losses since joining the UFC in 2021.
Turner entered this weekend hoping to turn around recent struggles in the promotion. The 13-fight UFC vet has lost four of his past five appearances now, including a finish loss against Renato Moicano last year.
Amanda Lemos cruises to decision win against Iasmin Lucindo
Amanda Lemos stopped the momentum of rising strawweight contender Iasmin Lucindo on Saturday night, controlling her for nearly all of a three-round contest to walk away with a unanimous decision win.
Lemos gained a comfortable two-round lead through 10 minutes of action, putting together numerous minutes of ground control and out-landing Lucindo in striking exchanges.
While Lucindo had a strong start to the third round, taking Lemos down and briefly scoring shots from side control, Lemos was able to get back to her feet and land a takedown of her own later in the round. Even if Lemos hadn’t escaped, the work that Lucindo did on the ground wasn’t enough to erase the two-round lead that had already been developed.
The result on Saturday shuts down Lucindo’s hopes of cracking the strawweight top five. She entered this weekend with the momentum of four wins since early 2023, including an October victory over contender Marina Rodriguez.
Former title challenger Lucindo is now back into the win column after losing a main event matchup to Virna Jandiroba in July.
Breakout ‘Fighting Nerd’ Mauricio Ruffy scores walk-off knockout against King Green
Mauricio Ruffy opened the main card with a bang, scoring a highlight-reel walk-off knockout against veteran King Green.
A spinning back kick from Ruffy clipped the head of Green just over two minutes into their lightweight fight, flooring the experienced talent and causing referee Chris Tognoni to end the contest.
Ruffy had some success in the somewhat slow-starting striking battle before then, stunning Green with a right hand earlier in the fight.
Ruffy is one of the many talents coming from the Fighting Nerds gym in Brazil who are currently on the rise. With three wins in his rookie UFC year, he stands alongside other rising talents from the gym like Caio Borralho and Carlos Prates.
Donning the black glasses with white tape around the center – the costume for all Fighting Nerds members – Ruffy celebrated his win in the UFC cage.
“I’ve always wondered what it would take a fighter to get two bonuses in one night,” he said through an interpreter. “Maybe that.”
Ruffy proposed his next fight to be a five-round matchup against long-time lightweight contender Beneil Dariush.
Green was looking to return to the win column following a first-round submission loss against Paddy Pimblett last year.
Prelim results: Joshua Van hands Rei Tsuruya first loss, Brazil goes three-for-four in prelim performances
In a flyweight clash which ended up being a classic style-fight, Joshua Van shut down more than a dozen takedown attempts from Rei Tsuruya and out-struck the Japanese prospect to win on scorecards. The win continued an impressive stretch for Van, having earned six victories and taken just one loss since joining the UFC roster a little under two years ago. Former Road To UFC winner Tsuruya, who won his promotional debut last year, had his 10-fight undefeated record stopped on Saturday.
Brunno “Hulk” Ferreira continued his career-long streak of earning all wins within the distance, transitioning a second-round rear naked choke attempt into an armbar to earn a tap from Armen Petrosyan. Ferreira found success on the feet in the minutes leading up to the submission finish, including a moment early in the first round where he stunned Petrosyan with a left hook. Ferreira now has a UFC record of 4-2. Petrosyan may have reached the end of the road in the promotion after three consecutive finish losses.
Carlos Leal made a statement on Saturday night, relentlessly going after Alex Morono with punches until a first-round finish emerged. Leal went after both the head and body of Morono with punches, not letting up with the shots until referee Keith Peterson stepped in. The former LFA champ and PFL competitor is now back in the win column after losing his short-notice UFC debut last year – a decision result some disputed. Morono, a UFC vet since 2016, is now on the first three-fight losing streak of his career.
In a result that will likely be debated long after the fight card concludes, Mairon Santos got past Francis Marshall in a close split decision outcome. While underdog Marshall won the first round on all three scorecards, dropping Marshall with a left hook in the opening minutes, judges believe that the Brazilian UFC newcomer edged out other rounds through the fight’s competitive, back-and-forth exchanges. Some on the official broadcast were quick to express dissenting opinions after the result was read: “I have nothing against the kid, but he didn’t win the fight,” said former champ Daniel Cormier. “That was a bad decision,” commentator Joe Rogan replied. All 13 media scores on MMADecisions.com saw Marshall take the bout.
In a high-volume boxing battle that tested the chins of both fighters, it was Ozzy Diaz who emerged victorious in a unanimous decision result against Djorden Santos. Coming off an unsuccessful UFC debut at light heavyweight, Diaz moved down to the 185-pound limit for this weekend. Santos was coming off an upset victory over Cage Warriors standout Will Currie from last year’s Dana White’s Contender Series season.
UFC 313 undercard loses two fights on Saturday afternoon
Saturday’s preliminary lineup was trimmed down to just five bouts just a few hours ago.
The undercard for this weekend’s pay-per-view lineup lost a pair of fights today, with the promotion saying that illness was the reason behind both withdrawals.
Recent interim title challenger Curtis Blaydes withdrew from his featured prelim spot against Rizvan Kuniev. Blaydes later mentioned on Facebook that he suffered a norovirus infection on Friday which caused him to be pulled from the show.
“Worked through the night to try and recover but my body wouldn’t cooperate,” he said.
The fight was set to be Blaydes’ first appearance since losing to Tom Aspinall last July in Manchester. The result delays the promotional debut of Kuniev, which has now been attempted for three different UFC cards.
A matchup between featherweight vets Chris Gutierrez and John Castaneda was also removed from the card, as an illness took Castaneda out of the fight.
