Should Alex Pereira have retained his UFC light heavyweight championship against Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 313 in Las Vegas? The MMA world is decidedly split.
Pereira’s celebrated title reign met its end Saturday in the main event of UFC 313, with Ankalaev winning a grinding fight via 49-46, 48-47 and 48-47 scores to earn a unanimous decision and capture Dagestan’s third undisputed UFC belt. Ankalaev overcame a barrage of early leg kicks from Pereira to drop “Poatan” with a wicked left hand in the second round and then take control from there, turning the latter half of the bout into a methodical affair that featured long stretches of Ankalaev controlling the action against the fence while Pereira fended off all 12 of the challenger’s takedown attempts.
While all three cageside judges scored the action for Ankalaev, not everyone agreed. A sizable amount of UFC fighters felt Pereira did enough in the first, third and fifth rounds to eke out a decision and retain his belt.
How the MMA world scored Ankalaev vs. Pereira:
Round 3 will decide this fight and who is the champion at light heavyweight
— Daniel Cormier (@dc_mma) March 9, 2025
That was close. I think Ankalaev took it
— Al Iaquinta🗽 (@ALIAQUINTA) March 9, 2025
I got it 4-1 Ankalaev but these judges….
— Matt Brown (@IamTheImmortal) March 9, 2025
I have it 3-2 Ankalaev
— Aiemann Zahabi (@Aiemannzahabi) March 9, 2025
3-2 Poatan ? Who ya got?
— Josh Thomson (@THEREALPUNK) March 9, 2025
Good fight. I got it 3-2 Alex. Winning rounds 1,3, and 5. But good fight, either way! #UFC313
— Brad Tavares (@BradTavares) March 9, 2025
3-2 Akalaev . Probably spelling that wrong but I had him winning 2, 3, 4.
— Cody Gibson (@TheRenegade559) March 9, 2025
I think chama took it
— C H🖕🏽T O🇪🇨V E R A (@chitoveraUFC) March 9, 2025
Na minha contagem 3×2 Poatan
3×2 Poatan in my books#UFC313— Igor Araujo (@igoraraujojj) March 9, 2025
What a performance put forth by Magomed Ankalaev. Tactical gameplan executed to perfection. The rematch will be legendary. #ANDNEW #UFC313
— Henry Cejudo (@HenryCejudo) March 9, 2025
It’s crazy that there’s no way to score a fight other than opinions . We need a better scoring system !
— Derek Brunson (@DerekBrunson) March 9, 2025
Calculated fight on both sides.. Last round im gonna say Alex… but 3-2 Maga#ufc313
— Corey ‘Overtime’ Anderson (@CoreyA_MMA) March 9, 2025
Who The Fk scored that 49-46, that’s criminal. #UFC313
I thought pereira won that 48-47 and won round 3. The others were obvious
— Damien Brown (@beatdown155) March 9, 2025
Good chess match. Ankalaev controlled Pereira a lot in key moments to take the rounds. Great story for Ankalaev to become the new champ #UFC313
— Aljamain Sterling (@funkmasterMMA) March 9, 2025
Tough run, still on top, in this game, you can expect a great fall but Poaton carries himself strong at all costs. He has my respect. 205 lb title for grabs but will there ever be another Bones ? 🤔 🤷♂️🦅🇺🇸 @OverDogsPodcast pic.twitter.com/m5mgZOYHlk
— Platinum Mike Perry (@PlatinumPerry) March 9, 2025
The threat of the takedown was the key to take away the pressure
— Jamahal Hill (@JamahalH) March 9, 2025
All the fancy techniques can make great highlights and win some big fights but Ankalaev showed again that great discipline and great fundamentals win championships
— Matt Brown (@IamTheImmortal) March 9, 2025
Congratulations Brother @AnkalaevM you made a history 👏 it was amazing performance against very tough opponent.
— khabib nurmagomedov (@TeamKhabib) March 9, 2025
Or better idea
Let’s go straightly to hunt the title⚡️
//\\— Jiri BJP Prochazka (@jiri_bjp) March 9, 2025
For full UFC 313 results, highlights and play-by-play, check out Uncrowned’s UFC 313 event hub.
