The two men that will make the final walk inside T-Mobile Arena on October 5 have already spent 25 minutes together inside the Octagon. Earlier this year, Ankalaev dethroned Pereira to become the new light heavyweight champion and everyone knew that these two would run it back in the not-too-distant future.
After defending his belt three times, all by finish, many people wondered if anyone would be able to stop “Poatan”. Ankalaev came into the matchup on a 13-fight unbeaten streak, his lone loss coming to recently retired Paul Craig during his UFC debut back in 2018. Since then, the Russian has taken out a handful of opponents including Johnny Walker, Anthony Smith, and Aleksandar Rakić.
Last time these two met the scorecards read 49-46, 48-47, and 48-47. It was a competitive, back-and-forth bout between these two athletes, so it’ll be interesting to see what changes both camps have made and who will leave Las Vegas with their hand raised, in addition to who the next challenger will be.