Pereira Regains His Throne at UFC 320

In a dramatic night at T-Mobile Arena, the mixed martial arts world was left stunned with one of the most entertaining and shocking cards of the year. With several finishes and dominant performances, fans were out and loud in Vegas showing their appreciation for the sport they all love.

In the main event, Alex Pereira delivered a brutal first-round stoppage to recapture the UFC light heavyweight title, while Merab Dvalishvili cemented his legacy in the bantamweight division with a dominant decision win at UFC 320. Pereira’s rematch with reigning champion Magomed Ankalaev lasted only 1 minute and 20 seconds, as the Brazilian charged forward, landed a crushing right hand, and followed up with ground-and-pound until referee Herb Dean intervened. With that, Pereira put to bed the memory of his unanimous decision loss to Ankalaev earlier this year, proving that his “excuses” of not being fully fit were true. However, the victory came with a cost as Pereira later revealed that he suspects he broke his foot while delivering one of his famous leg kicks directly to Ankalaev’s shin, limping badly as he exited the Octagon. Regardless, he celebrated the result as redemption, “I wasn’t well that night before. Tonight, I came fully prepared,” he said during his post-fight interview. This win snapped Ankalaev’s 14 fight win streak and truly cementing Alex “Poatan” Pereira’s place as one of the greatest combat sports athletes of all time.

Earlier in the night, the card saw former light heavyweight champion Jiri Prochazka deliver a third-round knockout of Khalil Rountree Jr, reasserting himself as a threat in the 205-pound division. This fight was highly anticipated by fans as the two are notorious for their eagerness to keep the fight on their feet and deliver “chaos”. The violence displayed in this matchup was truly exciting to watch, producing a contender for fight of the year after Prochazkha’s comeback performance. The Czech fighter was later seen to be very emotional after watching Pereira win his fight as the two have had history together with Alex finishing Jiri in two title fights. 

In the co-headliner, Merab Dvalishvili defended his bantamweight crown in perhaps the most lopsided title fight this year, outwrestling Cory Sandhagen and becoming victorious by unanimous decision. Over the five rounds, Dvalishvili recorded 20 takedowns, setting a new UFC title fight record, and kept constant pressure on Sandhagen’s defences. This performance also has fans believing that Merab is now considered the “G.O.A.T” of the Bantamweight division, seen above the great Dominic Cruz.

As the weekend is over, the MMA fans have shifted their attention to this Saturday’s fight night, where the beloved Charles Oliveira takes on Mateusz Gamrot in his hometown of Rio, Brazil. Oliveira has decided to fight just four months after being devastatingly knocked unconscious by the current number one pound-for-pound fighter and Lightweight Champion, Ilia Topuria. In usual circumstances, fighters would take at least six months recovery after being knocked out, but not the fan-favourite “Do Bronxs”, as he looks to make it seven wins out of seven fights in Brazil, but can he beat the Polish Power of Gamrot?