Alex Pereira reacts after the combat in opposition to Magomed Ankalaev throughout UFC 320 at T-Cell Area, Las Vegas, Nevada, US, October 4, 2025. — Reuters
Alex Pereira reclaimed the UFC mild heavyweight title by defeating Magomed Ankalaev in a shocking knockout simply 1:20 into the primary spherical of the primary occasion at UFC 320 on Saturday.
Pereira, 38, was searching for revenge for a decisive unanimous resolution loss to Ankalaev at UFC 313 in March, claiming he was solely at 40 % for that match. With a cleaner invoice of well being and a transparent thoughts for vengeance, Pereira (13-3-0) stayed on the assault and did not enable Ankalaev (21-2-1) to the touch him.
Pereira’s victory revives the sunshine heavyweight title image, taking the belt from a fighter in Ankalaev who did little to encourage hope for the way forward for the division. With Jiri Prochazka additionally profitable his bout by beautiful knockout, it woke up the potential for a 3rd bout in opposition to Pereira for the belt.
Merab Dvalishvili (21-4-0) efficiently defended his bantamweight title with a unanimous resolution win over Cory Sandhagen (18-6-0) within the co-main occasion (49-45, 49-45, 49-46), dominating the final 4 rounds of the combat after taking full management within the second. Dvalishvili almost completed Sandhagen with a D’arce choke late within the fourth, however Sandhagen averted tapping and introduced the combat to the scorecards.
Sandhagen managed to maintain the combat on foot for many of the first spherical, baiting Dvalishvili into beneficial strike exchanges that allowed him to achieve an early benefit. That may be the final window Sandhagen would have, as Dvalishvili seemingly flipped a change within the second spherical and almost completed the American together with his fists in a 10-8 show that turned the combat.
Essentially the most anticipated motion of the primary card started with a light-weight heavyweight struggle between Prochazka (32-5-1) and Khalil Rountree Jr. (15-7-0). With a loss probably within the steadiness late within the third, Prochazka landed a devastating mixture that knocked Rountree out chilly with two minutes left on the clock.
Rountree gained an early benefit by touchdown a number of sequence of high-calibre combos within the first spherical that left Prochazka clearly stumbling into the second. The exchanges additionally drained Rountree, permitting Prochazka an opportunity to discover a window together with his third-round explosion.
Youssef Zoulal (18-5-1) made fast work of Josh Emmett (19-6) in the primary card’s second combat, forcing the 40-year-old to verbally faucet through arm bar 1:38 into the bout in a second that left the T-Cell Area crowd stumped.
It wasn’t instantly obvious why the featherweight fighters have been being separated till the replay was proven. The realisation of what occurred was met with dismay from a pro-Emmett crowd that moments earlier was participating in “USA” chants. The end marked Zalal’s fifth straight victory.
Joe Pyfer (15-3-0) opened the primary card with a second-round submission victory over Abus Magomedov (28-7-1), securing a profitable rear-naked choke at 1:44 within the second spherical. Magomedov dominated the primary, however Pyfer dropped Magomedov with a combo to start the second and almost made him faucet with an arm triangle earlier than locking within the finisher.
