LAS VEGAS — Fan favorite Alex Pereira dethroned Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 320, taking the light heavyweight championship with a first-round stoppage Saturday night.
Pereira (13-3-0) floored Ankalaev (21-2-1) after hurting him with a huge right hand and quickly went to work using thunderous elbows during a ground-and-pound before referee Herb Dean stepped in to stop the bout at the 1:20 mark.
Pereira brought an end to Ankalaev’s 14-match unbeaten streak, while exacting revenge for a loss in the fighters’ first meeting in March.
“I wasn’t well that night, but tonight I was very well,” Pereira said through his translator.
Pereira lost to Ankalaev by unanimous decision on March 8, when the judges graded the fight on aggressiveness. This time, Pereira wasted no time in attacking Ankalaev with relentless pressure.
The 38-year-old Brazilian landed 28 of the 45 significant strike attempts, while Ankalaev, 33, was only able to land four of his nine attempts.
Pereira closed +200 at BetMGM Sportsbook, which means a $100 wager would have won $200. A Pereira by KO or TKO in under 2.5 rounds was +475.
While Pereira entered the arena with the sold-out crowd standing and roaring in approval, Ankalaev was greeted by a chorus of boos.
The 19,081 in attendance, which included Golden State Warriors stars Draymond Green and Jimmy Butler and Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua, went into a frenzy the moment Dean stepped in to stop the fight.
Earlier in the night, in what some might have considered a title eliminator bout in the light heavyweight division for the right to face Pereira, second-ranked contender Jiri Prochazka (32-5-1) delivered a brutal left hand at the 3:04 mark of the third round to knock out No. 4 Khalil Rountree Jr. (15-7-0) in what earned the fight of the night.
Pereira had beaten Prochazka twice already, second-round knockouts at UFC 295 and 303.
After his victory, Pereira used his spotlight during the post-fight interview with Joe Rogan to call for a moment of silence in honor of Jon Jones’ older brother, Arthur, who died unexpectedly earlier this week.
“He was such a great guy,” UFC president Dana White said. “When somebody passes away so young in their sleep, it’s brutal. The conversations I’ve had with Jon, he’s handling it well.”
In the co-main event, champion Merab Dvalishvili (21-4-0) successfully defended his bantamweight title with a unanimous decision (49-45, 49-45, 49-46) over Cory Sandhagen (18-6-0). Dvalishvili, who strengthened his argument a Fighter of the Year contender, registered a UFC record for takedowns landed (20) with 37 attempts. His victory extended the division’s longest-ever win streak at 14 fights.
In their scheduled three-round featherweight bout, the stunned crowd watched No. 9 contender Youssef Zalal (18-5-1) top No. 8 Josh Emmett (19-6-0) by way of verbal submission at 1:38 of the first round with a wicked arm bar.
In the scheduled three-round middleweight bout, Joe Pyfer (15-3) came out aggressive in the second rout with two quick punches to drop Abus Magomedov (28-7-1), and then dominated on the ground until winning by submission via rear naked choke at the 1:44 mark.
