Reigning UFC light heavyweight champion, Alex Pereira, will defend his 205-pound title against No. 1-ranked division contender, Magomed Ankalaev, atop the upcoming UFC 313 pay-per-view (PPV) event, recently announced for Sat., March 8, 2025 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. In the UFC 313 co-main event, lightweight highlight reel, Justin Gaethje, returns to battle longtime contender, Dan Hooker.
Now they have an official poster.
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Ankalaev and Gaethje are slight betting favorites for UFC 313.
“If Ankalaev will fight like last fight with [Aleksandar] Rakic, he’s going to lose the fight,” former UFC light heavyweight champion, Jan Blachowicz, told Home of Fight. “He needs to do something more. He is a good fighter, but it’s not enough for Pereira in this kind of style. He needs to change. He needs to be more … he has to believe in what he’s doing. I think he doesn’t believe. He just wants to win the fight, but don’t take too much punches.”
“He is very careful in this what he’s doing, and I think this kind of way, fighting with Pereira, will not work,” Blachowicz continued. “He said the same before Rakic that we’re going to see a new Ankalaev, but everybody saw that this fight was very boring. I almost go to sleep, so maybe he will start saying the same and then he will fight again very boring style. Three fights ago, I would have picked Ankalaev, but now Pereira.”
For the rest of the UFC 313 fight card and PPV lineup click here.