Magomed Ankalaev stole a tight decision win to dethrone Alex Pereira at UFC 313.
Ankalaev is now the new UFC light heavyweight champion and it is his first belt in Dana White’s promotion.
Pereira had started well, landing some damaging trademark calf kicks to Ankalaev in the opening sequence.
However, the Brazilian started to lose control during the middle of the fight as Ankalaev asserted his dominance in the clinch.
Although Pereira was able to stop the Russian, stuffing eleven of his takedowns during the fight, Ankalaev did enough in the eyes of the judges to steal the victory.
One judge awarded the fight 49-46 to Ankalaev, while the other two scored the contest 48-47 in favour of the Russian.
Pereira had previously asserted his desire to move up a division and fight Jon Jones for the heavyweight title, but he may favour a rematch now.
More to follow…
