UFC CEO Dana White broke some big news on Tuesday as summer nears a close.
UFC light heavyweight champion Magomed Ankalaev will make his first title defense against the man he won the belt from, Alex Pereira, in the UFC 320 main event on October 4th in Las Vegas.
UFC CEO Dana White announced the news during an Instagram live stream on Tuesday.
Ankalaev defeated Pereira by unanimous decision at UFC 313 earlier this year at T-Mobile Arena to end Pereira’s history-making light heavyweight title reign. Before the loss to Ankalaev, Pereira defended the UFC light heavyweight title in knockout wins over Jamahal Hill, Jiri Prochazka, and Khalil Rountree Jr.
Alex Pereira vs. Magomed Ankalaev 2 set despite months of uncertainty regarding rematch
The Ankalaev vs. Pereira 2 announcement was made after months of uncertainty regarding a potential rematch between the two behemoths. After initially verbally agreeing to immediately run back their UFC 313 showdown, Ankalaev repeatedly accused Pereira of refusing fight offers and seemed keen in facing another contender.
Despite Ankalaev’s threats, Pereira’s immediate rematch opportunity comes after his multi-year rise to UFC superstardom. Pereira became the fastest UFC fighter to earn two world titles when he defeated Prochazka for the then-vacant belt at UFC 295.
Pereira will have to undergo another massive weight cut after sharing eye-opening gains since the UFC 313 fight. The former UFC light heavyweight champion weighs upwards of 240 lbs, prompting many to speculate a potential move to the heavyweight division.
For now, any chance of a Pereira heavyweight showdown with either Jon Jones or Tom Aspinall will have to wait as he prepares for his shot at revenge. Aspinall will fight Ciryl Gane in his first undisputed heavyweight title defense at UFC 321 in Abu Dhabi.
Merab Dvalishvili vs. Cory Sandhagen serves as the UFC 320 co-headliner
But Ankalaev vs. Pereira 2 wasn’t the only intriguing breaking news announced regarding UFC 320 in Las Vegas. UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili returns in the UFC 320 co-main event against Cory Sandhagen.
Dvalishvili returns for his next title defense after wins over Umar Nurmagomedov and Sean O’Malley earlier this year. After promising to keep busy in 2025, Dvalishvili has lived up to his earlier promises, and will face arguably the toughest test of his title reign against Sandhagen.
Sandhagen sat Octagonside as Dvalishvili submitted O’Malley at UFC 316 last month, and shared a cordial backstage conversation with Dvalishvili regarding a potential fight. Sandhagen hasn’t fought since defeating former UFC flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo earlier this year at UFC Des Moines.
This will be Sandhagen’s second chance at winning a UFC belt after he lost to Petr Yan in a short-notice interim title booking at UFC 267. Since then, Sandhagen has defeated the likes of Song Yadong, Rob Font, and Marlon Vera.
The full UFC 320 card is expected to be announced in the coming weeks.
