Alex Pereira stole the show in Australia and he didn’t even have to throw a single punch.
It’s safe to say that Aussies absolutely love the reigning light heavyweight champion, as evidenced by their raucous ovation for ‘Poatan’ during one of his appearances while in Sydney for Saturday’s UFC 312 pay-per-view event at Qudos Bank Arena.
Alex Pereira is an absolute SUPERSTAR!
#UFC312 pic.twitter.com/BAJScrreHu
— MMA Orbit (@mma_orbit) February 7, 2025
Alex Pereira to defend his light heavyweight title at UFC 313
Of course, Pereira won’t be in action at UFC 312, but fortunately, fight fans won’t have to wait long to see the Brazilian boogeyman back in action. On March 8, ‘Poatan’ will put his 205-pound title on the line when the promotion heads back to the familiar confines of T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas for a loaded UFC 313 card.
In the main event of the evening, Pereira will square off with top-ranked contender Magomed Ankalev.
Ankalaev has gone unbeaten in his last 13 fights with his last three victories coming against Anthony ‘Lionheart’ Smith, Johnny Walker, and Aleksandar Raki?. Overall, Ankalaev is 20-1-1 in his mixed martial arts career and 11-1-1 under the UFC banner, his lone loss coming against Paul Craig in 2018.
Pereira successfully defended his light heavyweight crown three times in 2024, besting Jamahal Hill and Jiri Prochazka a mere nine weeks apart before scoring a fourth-round TKO against Khalil Rountree at UFC 307 in Salt Lake City. The trio of title defenses moved his UFC record to 9-1.
