The tension in T-Mobile Arena was palpable as Alex Pereira and Magomed Ankalaev faced off in the octagon ahead of UFC 313’s main event.
The night had already delivered electrifying action, and every fan in attendance — myself included — was anticipating a firefight in the final bout.
The night had started with some disappointment with the news that two fighters had become sick, and their fights were canceled. The event was delayed an hour and a half, creating an unusual anticipation for the first fight on the card.
Djorden Santos took on Ozzy Diaz to open the night, but a slow and careful first round drew boos from the crowd.
The rest of the fight was the opposite, with both fighters throwing punches with little regard for defense.
The decision ultimately went to Diaz, but the further booing indicated that many believed Santos should have won.
The next fight saw Francis Marshall and Mairon Santos put on an exciting display of striking and grappling, but the decision was, again, questionable.
Santos secured the victory and defended the decision in his post-fight speech, but a few days later, he put out a statement saying his opponent should have been given the decision.
“When the fight was over, I felt I clearly won, but that wasn’t the truth,” Santos wrote.
From within the arena, it seemed obvious that Marshall won the fight, but it was difficult to see Santos had actually bloodied Marshall’s nose throughout the fight — one advantage of watching from home.
Carlos Leal made quick work of Alex Morono in the first finish of the card, winning via technical knockout within one round. Leal, who was on the wrong side of a poor decision last October, righted the ship and looks like a force at 170 lbs.
Bruno Ferreira’s fight with Armen Petrosyan was a focal point for many fans, who feel fouls are becoming too common in today’s UFC.
Ferreira was kicked in the cup twice in quick succession, causing referee Mark Smith to take a point from Petrosyan.
The point didn’t end up factoring into the fight — Ferreira submitted Petrosyan in the second round — but fans have complained about the lack of referee action over fouls in recent events, so Smith was applauded for his decision in this one.
To cap off the prelims, Joshua Van took on Rei Tsuruya.
The expectation was that Tsuruya would rely on his grappling in this fight, but Van’s takedown defense held firm, stopping 17 of 21 attempts, only succumbing to Tsuruya’s elite throws and trips.
The soaring flyweight dominated Tsuruya on the feet, and at just 23, he could be a mainstay in the flyweight rankings going forward.
The main card kicked off with 2025’s best knockout so far, and it’s hard to see anything eclipsing it.
Mauricio Ruffy feinted a left hand and landed a picture-perfect spinning wheel kick on King Green’s temple, leaving the entire arena wincing as the knockout was replayed.
Unfortunately, the excitement from the knockout was drained during Amanda Lemos’s control-heavy victory over Iasmin Lucindo where the two combined for 12 minutes of control time and just 16 significant strikes.
Thankfully, the energy was restored when Ignacio Bahamondes submitted Jalin Turner in the first round. It seemed like Turner had a chance to escape Bahamondes’s triangle choke, but he was pulled back in and tapped.
After the fight, Turner retired after an exciting, yet tumultuous, career. Bahamondes should look up the lightweight ranks for his next fight.
The co-main event saw Justin Gaethje take on Rafael Fiziev.
With the entire crowd behind Gaethje, he delivered.
A back-and-forth first round was quickly forgotten when Gaethje dropped Fiziev with an uppercut in round two. He did well on the feet in round three as well, securing the unanimous decision victory.
In the main event, one of the most anticipated fights this year, Pereira faced his toughest light heavyweight test, a wrestler who could withstand Pereira’s kickboxing assault on the feet.
The Brazilian looked flat and slow for the first time in many years. It’s unclear if Ankalaev’s wrestling threat was too imposing, even though Pereira defended every takedown attempt, but he looked nothing like the world-class striker that he’s known to be.
Ankalaev didn’t just withstand Pereira’s striking, either, he outdid him.
At the end of the second round, Ankalaev rocked Pereira, but the bell sounded before he could get the finish.
Ankalaev got the decision — not without fan complaints that Pereira had won three rounds — and became the new light heavyweight champion.
Live UFC events are unlike those of any other sport.
A fan favorite simply walking out to the ring brings unmatched energy, let alone a highlight-reel knockout, and the action is nearly constant.
Even with less than 20,000 in attendance, I could’ve mistaken the crowd for a stadium of 50,000, amplifying the intensity of each moment.
