When Alex Pereira and Magomed Ankalaev first fought at UFC 313 in March, Ankalaev defeated Pereira via unanimous decision and captured the 205-pound championship. On Saturday, Pereira exacted his revenge and it only took him 80 seconds to do it.
Pereira pressed forward taking the fight to the Russian. A stinging right hand connected hurting Ankalaev and it was just a matter of time. Pereira, looking for the finish, following Ankalaev to the ground and hammered away with elbows until referee Herb Dean stepped in.
Following the fight, Pereira could be seen evaluating his right foot for injury. Upon inspection, “Poatan” believes he broke his foot in the title bout.
“It’s my foot, and I’m pretty sure it’s broken,” Pereira said during the UFC 320 Post-Fight Press Conference. “I had a really good strategy that I saw that worked for [Jan] Blachowicz. The inside calf kicks were working.
“I threw a few of those and then he switched stances. I think I was in the wrong range, and I threw another kick to his lead leg and it landed on the tip of my foot and I think it’s broken.”
Pereira, a former UFC middleweight champion, became a two-time light heavyweight titleholder with the win over Ankalaev on Saturday. He’d like to move up to the heavyweight division in pursuit of a historic third UFC division title.
