UFC 313 LIVE: Alex Pereira vs Magomed Ankalaev latest fight updates and results

Alex Pereira puts his light-heavyweight title on the line tonight, fighting Magomed Ankalaev in the main event of UFC 313.

Pereira, a former kickboxing champion, has been a phenom since joining the UFC in 2021. He won middleweight gold in 2022 before moving up to light-heavyweight and adding a second belt in 2023. Then, last year, he recorded three successful title defences with TKOs of Jamahal Hill, Jiri Prochazka and Khalil Rountree Jr.

The Brazilian’s challenger in Las Vegas tonight is Ankalaev, a Russian who shares the wrestling abilities of many of his fellow Dagestanis – but with solid striking skills to boot. Still, many fans feel the UFC would rather have a star like Pereira, 37, as champion, not Ankalaev, and the latter has faced a tough route to this title fight.

Ankalaev, 32, actually challenged for the vacant belt in late 2022 but fought Jan Blachowicz to a draw, and more than two years later, he finally gets another shot at gold.

Also tonight, Justin Gaethje and Rafael Fiziev clash in a rematch two years in the making, as the latter replaces the injured Dan Hooker. Gaethje vs Hooker was a dream fight for many fans, but they can still expect chaos as Fiziev bids to avenge a narrow loss to Gaethje. Follow the UFC 313 main card and prelims live, below.

UFC 313 LIVE: Pereira vs Ankalaev

• Alex Pereira defends light-heavyweight title against Magomed Ankalaev in main event

• Fan favourite Pereira recorded three successful title defences in 2024, all by TKO

• Ankalaev faced long route to second title fight, after drawing with vacant belt on the line in 2022

• Co-main event: Justin Gaethje vs Rafael Fiziev 2, two years after narrow first clash

• Gaethje outpointed Fiziev in 2023, and latter replaces injured Dan Hooker here

• Plus: rising star Mauricio Ruffy takes on King Green in main-card opener

UFC 313 LIVE: Brunno Ferreira vs Armen Petrosyan

02:13 , Alex Pattle

Round one

Petrosyan stalks Ferreira around the ring. The Brazilian switches stances back and forth; Petrosyan does the same. Their frames are so different: Petrosyan is the taller, slimmer man, while Ferreira is shorter and bulkier.

Brilliant switch left hand from Ferreira! Petrosyan eats it well, but his eyes definitely widened!

Brief pause now, after a low blow from Petrosyan. Back under way. Annnnnd… already we have another pause for a low blow by Petrosyan! Wow.

Petrosyan is docked a point! Mark Smith, the referee, not messing about after some fouls (eye pokes) proved decisive in the last two UFC main events.

Ferreira lands a takedown, intercepting a knee strike, but he can’t keep down Petrosyan. Stabbing front kick by Ferreira, who is bleeding slightly from the nose after a cross by Petrosyan.

Leaping knee lands to the body of Ferreira. His striking has sharpened throughout the round.

UFC 313 LIVE: Brunno Ferreira vs Armen Petrosyan

01:56

Can Brazilian fighters go 3-0 so far tonight?

Brunno Ferreira will try to preserve his nation’s record on the UFC 313 prelims, as he fights Armen Petrosyan at 185lb.

Ferreira is 12-2 and has sealed all of his wins via stoppage.

Petrosyan aims to stop a two-fight skid here, having been on the end of that stunning KO by Shara Magomedov in October – the infamous double spinning back fist.

UFC 313 LIVE: Alex Morono vs Carlos Leal

01:47 , Alex Pattle

Round one

Both men stand orthodox. Some winging punches from Morono already.

Leal with a sharp elbow in the clinch. Morono lands a stabbing front kick to the body, but he misses with a spinning back fist.

Leal is fighting on the front foot. He gets through with a cross then a switch left hand.

More straight punches land for Leal, then a clean one-two. Decent head movement by him, before he lands a flurry to the head – then a knee to the body and elbow upstairs!

Morono is landing some counters, but he’s largely eating shots from Leal against the fence! Morono sags to the canvas and tries to grapple, but Leal refuses to engage, beckoning Morono back to his feet.

More violence from Leal, with Morono stood against the fence! How is Morono absorbing this damage?? Eventually referee Keith Peterson steps in! Right call!

Carlos Leal def. Alex Morono via first-round TKO (punches, 4:16)

UFC 313 LIVE: Alex Morono vs Carlos Leal

01:43 , Alex Pattle

We head to the welterweight division now, where Alex Morono takes on Carlos Leal.

It’s another American vs Brazilian match-up! US fighter Morono is 34; Leal is 30.

Each man is aiming to bounce back from a loss here – Morono is on a two-fight losing streak, in fact.

UFC 313 LIVE: Mairon Santos vs Francis Marshall

01:36 , Alex Pattle

Mairon Santos def. Francis Marshall via split decision (27-30, 29-28, 29-28)

Wow. Some bad, bad scoring in there. Indy Sport had it 30-27 to Marshall, but we can see 29-28 for him.

However, 29-28 for Santos? No way. Boos in the T-Mobile Arena.

UFC 313 LIVE: Mairon Santos vs Francis Marshall

01:31 , Alex Pattle

Round three

Eric Nicksick, one of the best coaches in the game, with a solid bit of corner work for Santos. “What do we do this for?” he asks. “Family”, is Santos’s reply.

He motivates the Brazilian to get after Marshall, and this final round has largely been fought at Santos’s pace.

“Family, family!” is the shout from Santos’s corner. He’s leading this round for my money, but nothing of much note has landed for either fighter.

And there’s a drive double-leg from Marshall! Santos with a good counter sweep, but Marshall also rolls through, ending up in guard!

UFC 313 LIVE: Mairon Santos vs Francis Marshall

01:24

Round two

It was a close first round, until Marshall snatched it with that knockdown. What a left hand it was.

He gets after Santos in round two, throwing boxing combinations and keeping the Brazilian on the back foot. Santos with the occasional front kick to the body, trying to deter the American.

Santos’s jab is starting to land nicely, and he’s bloodied Marshall’s nose.

Oh, Marshall mixes in a double-leg with perfect timing! He’s also straight to the back, but can he get his hooks in? No, and Santos manages to get to the fence.

Santos is able to separate from the American late in the round.

UFC 313 LIVE: Mairon Santos vs Francis Marshall

01:18 , Alex Pattle

Round one

Both men stand orthodox. Marshall gets the better of the earliest exchanges, with a grazing one-two and a hook.

Santos then kicks low and Marshall looks like he is feeling those, but he drops the Brazilian with a leg kick of his own!

A single-leg takedown is unsuccessful for Marshall, and now Santos drops HIM with a low kick! Ha.

Stiff right cross from Santos on the break. Another hard leg kick. He misses with a biggg right hand and is countered with a hook.

OH! And a huge left overhand drops Santos! But the Brazilian is able to grab a single-leg – just off of instinct, it seems! Either way, he slows down Marshall enough to avoid a finish late in round one!

UFC 313 LIVE: Mairon Santos vs Francis Marshall

01:11 , Alex Pattle

So, it’s Mairon Santos vs Francis Marshall next, a featherweight meeting.

American Marshall is 8-2 and still just 26 years old, but Brazil’s Santos is even younger at 24, with a pro record of 14-1.

UFC 313 LIVE: Fight updates incoming!

01:05 , Alex Pattle

Okay, after Curtis Blaydes and Chris Gutierrez’s fights were cancelled on short notice today, there was just one early-prelim bout tonight.

In that fight, Ozzy Diaz def. Djorden Santos via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28).

Next up, the regular prelims, and our detailed fight updates!

White provides update on Jones vs Aspinall and who will fight the winner

00:46 , Alex Pattle

More news from this week, which actually may involve Pereira…

Dana White provides update on Jon Jones vs Tom Aspinall and who will fight the winner

Muhammad urges White to force UFC to restore Palestine flag

00:35 , Alex Pattle

In other news this week:

Belal Muhammad urges Dana White to force UFC to restore Palestine flag

UFC 313 LIVE: Where does Pereira rank on our pound-for-pound list?

00:21 , Alex Pattle

The Independent’s pound-for-pound UFC rankings

UFC 313 LIVE: Full fight card

00:00 , Alex Pattle

Subject to even more late changes, such as the two noted at the bottom of this post, here is tonight’s card! ‘C’ denotes champion.

Main card

Alex Pereira (C) vs Magomed Ankalaev (light-heavyweight title)

Justin Gaethje vs Rafael Fiziev 2 (lightweight)

Jalin Turner vs Ignacio Bahamondes (lightweight)

Amanda Lemos vs Iasmin Lucindo (women’s strawweight)

King Green vs Mauricio Ruffy (lightweight)

Prelims

Joshua Van vs Rei Tsuruya (flyweight)

Brunno Ferreira vs Armen Petrosyan (middleweight)

Alex Morono vs Carlos Leal (welterweight)

Mairon Santos vs Francis Marshall (featherweight)

Early prelims

Djorden Santos vs Ozzy Diaz (middleweight)

N.B. Cancelled today: Curtis Blaydes vs Rizvan Kuniev; Chris Gutierrez vs John Castaneda

UFC 313 LIVE: Pereira responds to Usyk after boxing champion’s surprise callout

00:00 , Alex Pattle

At the end of our UFC 313 preview, we touched on another interesting story from fight week:

Oleksandr Usyk, boxing’s unified heavyweight champion, said in February that he plans to fight twice more before retiring – and the Ukrainian surprisingly named Pereira as one of his desired opponents.

Now, the UFC star has echoed that sentiment.

Pereira has already expressed a desire to challenge UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones, while middleweight title holder Dricus Du Plessis would like to move up and face Pereira. Both fighters’ names were put to “Poatan” during UFC 313’s media day, yet he also referenced Usyk.

Full story:

UFC champion Alex Pereira responds to Oleksandr Usyk after boxer’s surprise callout

UFC 313 LIVE: Pereira was a vital star in a post-McGregor world – but is his time up?

Saturday 8 March 2025 23:51 , Alex Pattle

It has been said that Alex Pereira is ‘speed-running’ a Hall of Fame UFC career, to borrow video-game jargon. That is to say, the Brazilian is blitzing through not only his opponents but also all conceivable achievements.

Within just 12 months of his UFC debut, Pereira claimed middleweight gold, beating his old kickboxing rival Israel Adesanya in 2022. Twelve months later, he snatched another title, beating Jiri Prochazka to become light-heavyweight champion. He stopped both men, by the way, leaving them scrambling for their senses.

And so Pereira achieved the rare status of a two-weight UFC champion in record time, and some feel he can still make…