Alex Pereira regained his light-heavyweight title from Magomed Ankalaev in shocking fashion at UFC 320, stopping the Russian in the very first round.
Pereira needed barely over one minute to score a TKO, having backed Ankalaev up to the fence in an aggressive start. The Brazilian star, famed for his power, stunned Ankalaev with a right hook, forcing the champion into a desperate takedown attempt.
But Pereira, 38, denied the 33-year-old and poured on ground and pound in the form of numerous hammer fists and elbows. That led referee Herb Dean to step in and wave off the contest, as “Poatan” earned his vengeance.
Back in March, Ankalaev outpointed Pereira to take the 205lb crown from the fan favourite, but the Russian’s reign proved short-lived, coming to an abrupt end at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas – where the rivals first duelled, in fact.
And in Saturday’s co-main event, Merab Dvalishvili outpointed Cory Sandhagen to retain his bantamweight belt for the third time, with all of those defences taking place in a 10-month span.
The Georgian, 34, implemented his wrestling prowess and relentless cardio to secure scorecards of 49-45, 49-45, 49-46, earning a 10-8 scorecard in the eyes of two judges – having almost stopped Sandhagen with a surprising, prolonged barrage of punches in the second frame.
Sandhagen, 33, started well and repeatedly stood after being taken down, but the American could not mount enough significant offence across five rounds. Ultimately, Dvalishvili scored his 14th straight win, leaving him within three of the outright UFC record.
UFC 320 results in full
Main card
Alex Pereira def. Magomed Ankalaev (C) via first-round TKO (right hook and ground and pound, 1:20)
Merab Dvalishvili (C) def. Cory Sandhagen via unanimous decision (49-45, 49-45, 49-46)
Jiri Prochazka def. Khalil Rountree Jr via third-round KO (strikes, 3:04)
Youssef Zalal def. Josh Emmet via first-round submission (armbar, 1:38)
Joe Pyfer def. Abus Magomedov via second-round submission (rear naked choke, 1:44)
Regular prelims
Ateba Gautier def. Treston Vines via first-round TKO (elbows, 1:41)
Daniel Santos def. Joo Sang Yoo via first-round TKO (punch and ground and pound, 0:24)
Jakub Wiklacz def. Patchy Mix via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Edmen Shahbazyan def. Andre Muniz via first-round KO (punch and ground and pound, 4:58)
Early prelims
Punahele Soriano def. Nikolay Veretennikov via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Yana Santos def. Macy Chiasson via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Farid Basharat def. Chris Gutierrez via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Ramiz Brahimaj def. Austin Vanderford via second-round submission (guillotine choke, 2:24)
Veronica Hardy def. Brogan Walker via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
