PBP UFC 313 - Pereira vs. Ankalaev Official Main Card PBP Discussion: Sat 3/8 at 10pm ET

[PrideNverDies]

I need a kickboxing/muay thai palette cleanser after that

 

[svmr_db]

 

[UppercutFromHades]

Delighted to see Ank win. I like Alex as a fighter but Ank was the antidote. He controlled the fight completely. He will be a long term champion. Alhamdulillah, the Dagestani boys are back to winning ways.

 

[UppercutFromHades]

What should be highlighted was just how much quicker Ank was with his hands and feet. That being the case, I can't see a rematch going too much differently. Obviously Alex always has the power, but that reduces him to a punchers chance.

 

[deanambrose]

Summary :
Early prelims was only one fight...
IMO Morono should retire soon
Bruno Ferreira isn't good. He has problems when opponent is more technical and Armen is quite good striker but power is great equalizer - we could see it in Alex/Izzy fights. I went with that. But Bruno subbed Petrosyan LOL
I hear that some people want to cut fighters after 3 straight losses - I am against it. Exciting fighters like Armen should stay even during skid. MW needs that because it is underwhelming as of now.
Van took advantage of his experience and took Rei's 0.
Mauricio with Knockout of the year candidate. Awesome KO but being unranked and call for #9 guy? It is so-so move. Bobby just isn't in it anymore. He is past his prime so it is not some awesome win. It is recongnizable name on resume tho.
Turner... he had potential. With better fight IQ and better use of his physical attributes he would be something more than B level ranked guy. Bahamondes for me came out of nowhere. We have changed of guard at LW. Many names soon will be out and some great guys will be ranked but name values won't be there anymore. At least for now. They can make name for themselves.
I thought that even on short notice Rafael will win against Gaethje who looked off in Max fight and might have glass chin. I was wrong about 2 things - result and Justin's ability to take punishment. Unfortunately I don't think this is the same GayCheese that we've seen in his peak. He was still off and not 100%. He is past prime - look how shy he was with his striking and no, fight itself wasn't that entertaining. Their first fight was better. I don't think it was FOTN.
Main event - I could see it 2 ways - Ank being gunshy and getting legs destroyed or Ank getting takedown and finish with ground and pound. Neither happened because Poatan was scared shitless and was on backfoot almost entire fight and Magomed being his usual self was just... just there. It was tactical warfare with not so interesting action but I wasn't bored.
Hard to score fight but I think Alex might be done. At LHW we have/had few elites at the top - Poatan himself, Ankalaev, Jan, Jiri and to lesser degree Hill who recently finally proven himself, in defeat but prove the point because stepping up in competition and steamrolling washed Glover and being quickly KOed by only elite he fought in Alex wasn't enough.
Anyway - Khalil who at the beginning was C level fighter who was losing to some mediocre competition was slowly evolving. Then he was taking on B level fighters and had some success and finally when he faced Alex he looked notch below elite so he might be called A level but thing is it is Poatan who looked off since that fight. Khalil took 2 round off Alex who did mediocre in this fight then he started to take over. That could be start of the end of prime Alex. We will see if Magomed fight was one time deal or Poatan's age and mileage finally took over him.

Overall main card was okayish while I didn't care about prelims.

 

[battouter]

so the round where ank got visibly wobbled. the judges still gave it to him?

the one you dreamt of last night? only one guy got wobbled in that fight and it wasn't ankalaev.

right, ank never hit the entire fight. got it

 

[Kung Fu Kowboy]

Matches to Make After UFC 313

The Ultimate Fighting Championship returned to pay-per-view with an eagerly anticipated title fight. The UFC 313 main event featured a light heavyweight tussle between Alex Pereira and Magomed Ankalaev.

www.sherdog.com

 

[Kung Fu Kowboy]

By the Numbers: UFC 313

Alex Pereira’s takedown defense held up, but his light heavyweight championship reign did not.

www.sherdog.com

 

[Kung Fu Kowboy]

Mauricio Ruffy’s spot among post-fight bonus winners was secured long before UFC 313 concluded.

Ruffy received a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” award for a highlight-reel finish of Bobby Green in their featured lighweight encounter on Saturday night at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The Fight Nerds standout put his opponent to sleep at 2:07 into the opening round, landing a spinning wheel kick that will likely wind up on many “Knockout of the Year” lists when all is said and done. It was just the 16th knockout by spinning kick in UFC history.

Elsewhere, Ignacio Bahamondes garnered a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” check for making short work of Jalin Turner in another featured lightweight pairing. Turner took top position early in the bout, but eventually he found himself trapped in a triangle choke. Turner tapped out 2:29 into Round 1, giving Bahamondes his third consecutive first-round finish.

Finally, Justin Gaethje and Rafael Fiziev earned “Fight of the Night” honors for the second time in their lightweight rematch. Just like their first meeting, the fight was competitive and violent, but ultimately, Gaethje got the nod on the scorecards once again — but both combatants were awarded with $50,000 for their efforts.

UFC 313 Bonuses: Mauricio Ruffy Secures $50K for Spectacular Knockout

Mauricio Ruffy’s spot among post-fight bonus winners was secured long before UFC 313 concluded.

www.sherdog.com

 

[Kung Fu Kowboy]

Early KO of the Year

 

[Gutter Chris]

There's that jugglao reading comprehension. I had ank winning, im shocked at the 49-46...and if you read how others scored it, you'll see you're in the minority if you agreed with Sal

Ya know what

I legit laughed at juggalo reading comprehension

 

[HI SCOTT NEWMAN]

That spinning head kick was beautiful, such a great shot. Green really looked hesitant from the opening second though, not sure what was up with him, but he usually comes straight out with swagger and talking and obscenities, but he walked across totally flat and silent, which he never does, it was strange I thought (Before any shots were thrown).

 

[svmr_db]

 

[TKing]

Had it for Ank, he pressured, he grappled at the right times, he seemed to do just a bit more.

I was really hoping for AP to continue his reign, ill always be a big fan of active champions and the possibility of seeing super fights. I have zero issues with Ank or his fighting style, only worry is he's a 1-2 fight a year fighter with multiple 1 fight only years over the last few years. We got spoiled with AP giving us 3 fights a year even as champ.

 

[vinnie245]

While the main event wasn't great and there were a couple other stinkers on the card (Lemos/Lucindo, Van/Tsuruya was disappointing also) we got a few nice finishes and some really solid fights as well (Co-main, Diaz/Santos)
6/10.

 

[HHJ]

Going 0-8 on takedowns is not controlling the fight.

Yes it is.

 

[Someone88]

Wow! That was a competitive fight! Pereira did well! Great win for Ankalaev and congratulations to him on winning the UFC Light Heavweight Title!

 

[Kung Fu Kowboy]

TOTAL NUMBER OF UFC FIGHTS: 8,076
TOTAL NUMBER OF UFC EVENTS: 724

The Ultimate Fighting Championship brought inconsistent results, a little disappointment and a bonkers knockout to fight fans at the T-Mobile Arena on Saturday. The audience reaction was mixed at night’s end, while the Sherdog Forums overwhelmingly mourned the defeat of a beloved champion. UFC 313 featured a new distinction for light heavyweight gold, a bonus master in his best form and the wheel kick of all wheel kicks.


Russian Resurgence: Magomed Ankalaev won a decision over Alex Pereira to claim the undisputed UFC light heavyweight championship. While many men have held that belt over the years, he is the first from Russia to do so.

Good Luck with That: To get to the throne, Ankalaev amassed a streak of 13 fights without suffering a loss—although he fought to a draw, and had one bout ruled a no contest. This current unbeaten streak of 14 straight is the second-lengthiest in his division’s history, trailing only Jon Jones’ run of 18 fights sans defeat from 2010 to 2020.

Ho Hum: The win on the scorecards dropped Ankalaev’s finish rate to an even 50%, with the remainder of his other victories all knockouts. This trend holds true for his time in the UFC, with six of his 12 triumphs needing to involve the judges.

Two for Every Day of the Week: In a rematch of their 2023 tilt, Justin Gaethje again outdueled Rafael Fiziev to settle for the decision win. Like that first fight, they claimed “Fight of the Night” honors, giving Gaethje his 14th in 14 UFC fights. While two past submission losses ended without extra checks, he makes up for it with two double bonus-winning victories in 2017 and 2020.

No One Like Him: With 14 bonuses to his name, Gaethje is one shy of Joe Lauzon’s divisional record. He ties other lightweights in Jim Miller, Donlad Cerrone and Charles Oliveira for second place.

Fighter of the Night: Nine of Gaethje’s 14 awards are of the FOTN variety. This makes him one short of all-time leaders Dustin Poirier and Edson Barboza.

He Can Jitz: To improve his stoppage streak to three straight, Ignacio Bahamondes slapped a triangle choke on Jalin Turner. It marked the Chilean’s second career submission, with the first also in the UFC in 2022, a brabo choke of Zhu Rong.

Rhymes with Luffy: Mauricio Ruffy iced Bobby Green with a spinning wheel kick a couple minutes into the first round of their encounter. His is one of 19 in the history of the organization, with lightweights accounting for more than any other division.

Gum Gum Wheel Kick: By flattening Green, Ruffy raised his career finish rate—all knockouts—to 92%. He also scored a “Performance of the Night” check, and each of the last 11 wheel kick knockouts have received a bonus cherry on top.

Stock Way Down: In seven overall appearances, including his decision win over Rei Tsuruya, Joshua Van has already amassed 768 significant strikes. The 59 he put on Tsuruya keeps him in sixth place for the most in UFC flyweight history.

Hulk def. Superman: Maintaining his 100% finish rate, Brunno Ferreira submitted “Superman” Armen Petrosyan in the second round. With the time of the stoppage reading 4:27 of Round 2, it is the latest “The Hulk” has ever recorded a victory.

Middlewonder: Ferreira’s submission over Armen Petrosyan came via triangle armbar, with the previous one in by Westin Wilson in June 2024. More middleweights have landed that particular maneuver than UFC athletes in any other weight class.

Ok Mr. Three Names: Carlos Leal Miranda blew through Alex Morono in under a round with a lengthy flurry of strikes. The Brazilian has performed each of his last five wins by knockout within two rounds, dating back to 2023.

Ozzy Man Diaz: Over the course of three violent rounds, Osman Diaz and Djorden Santos threw down. While not cracking the top 10 in terms of significant strikes landed, Diaz did go the distance for the first time as a professional.

Never Say Never Again: Coming into UFC 313, Pereira had never lost on the scorecards (14 fights), Turner had never been submitted (22 fights) and Tsuruya had never been defeated (10 fights).

More Human than Human: Returning from a vicious knockout, Gaethje changed his walkout music back to one he chose in 2020 against Tony Ferguson. For the second time in his UFC tenure, “The Highlight” walked out to “Call Me Human” by Godfather of Harlem featuring Skip Marley and French Montana.

Me Me Me: For each of his three UFC outings, Mauricio Ruffy has picked a custom walkout tune. He created the track himself, appropriately titling it “Mauricio Ruffy.” He has won all three fights after walking out to it.

Fight Facts: UFC 313 ‘Pereira vs. Ankalaev’

UFC 313 featured a new distinction for light heavyweight gold, a bonus master in his best form and the wheel kick of all wheel kicks.

www.sherdog.com