March 9, 2025 12: 10 pm ET
LAS VEGAS – Magomed Ankalaev knew he had the UFC light heavyweight title the moment the final bell rang against Alex Pereira.
Although Pereira (12-3 MMA, 9-2 UFC) thought he did enough to win the decision, and some online supported his claim, Ankalaev (21-1-1 MMA, 12-1-1 UFC) thought Pereira didn’t do enough and that he was the one looking to fight the entire time.
“I was confident,” Ankalaev said at the UFC 313 post-fight press conference when asked how confident he was on winning a decision. “I kept on moving forward. I kept on pressuring him, and he kept on running away from me. For 20 minutes, this guy was running away from me. Then I heard at the end of the fight that he was saying he wasn’t sure why the victory was given to me. Who are they supposed to give the victory to? I was pressuring the entire time, and he was running for 20 minutes, and he’s wondering who’s supposed to get the victory?
“Listen, I’m happy for a rematch i