Alex Pereira gains revenge on Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 320

Fan favourite Alex Pereira dethroned Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 320, taking the light heavyweight championship with a first-round stoppage on Saturday night in Las Vegas.

Pereira (13-3-0) floored Ankalaev (21-2-1) after hurting him with a huge right hand and quickly went to work using thunderous elbows during a ground-and-pound before referee Herb Dean stepped in to stop the bout.

Pereira brought an end to Ankalaev’s 14-match unbeaten streak, while exacting revenge for a loss in their first meeting in March.

“I wasn’t well that night, but tonight I was very well,” Pereira said through his translator.

“Vengeance is never a good thing. It’s like a poison sometimes. I told everyone I wasn’t in good condition last time. Nobody believed it. You saw it.”

Pereira lost to Ankalaev by unanimous decision on March 8, when the judges graded the fight on aggressiveness. This time, Pereira wasted no time in attacking Ankalaev with relentless pressure.

The 38-year-old Brazilian landed 28 of the 45 significant strike attempts, while Ankalaev, 33, was only able to land four of his nine attempts.

While Pereira entered the arena with the sold-out crowd standing and roaring in approval, Ankalaev was greeted by a chorus of boos. The 19,081 in attendance at T-Mobile Arena erupted when Dean stepped in to stop the fight after Pereira's early onslaught.

Earlier in the night, in what some might have considered a title eliminator bout in the light heavyweight division for the right to face Pereira, second-ranked contender Jiri Prochazka (32-5-1) delivered a brutal left hand to knock out No4 Khalil Rountree Jr (15-7-0) in what earned the fight of the night.

Pereira has beaten Prochazka twice already, second-round knockouts at UFC 295 and 303.

In the co-main event, champion Merab Dvalishvili (21-4-0) successfully defended his bantamweight title with a unanimous decision (49-45, 49-45, 49-46) over Cory Sandhagen (18-6-0). Dvalishvili, who strengthened his argument as a fighter of the year contender, registered a UFC record for takedowns landed (20) with 37 attempts. His victory extended the division’s longest-ever win streak at 14 fights.

In their scheduled three-round featherweight bout, the stunned crowd watched No9 contender Youssef Zalal (18-5-1) top No8 Josh Emmett (19-6-0) by way of verbal submission with a wicked arm bar.

UFC 321 takes place later this month at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi when England's Tom Aspinall defends his heavyweight title against Frenchman Ciryl Gane on October 26.