Alex Pereira Will Fight Magomed Ankalaev At UFC 313 In March 2025

Alex Pereira will be challenged by Magomed Ankalaev in risking the UFC lightweight title (Instagram/@alexpoatanpereira).

JAKARTA - Alex Pereira will risk his lightweight heavyweight title for the fourth time against Magomed Ankalaev in the main UFC 313 event on March 8, 2025 at the T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas. The fight was announced during the UFC 311 broadcast on Saturday, January 18, 2025.

Pereira (12-2) has just passed an extraordinary 2024 year with three titles in 175 days.

He started 2024 by beating Jamahal Hill at UFC 300. Then, he returned with a short notice to stop Jiri Prochazka at UFC 303 and close 2024 with a TKO victory over Khalil Rountree Jr at UFC 307.

The defense of Pereira's fourth title may be the hardest so far. Ankalaev (19-1-1), known for its grappling technique, has just won absolute points over Aleksandar Rakic at UFC 308.

He has long wanted a fight with Pereira and will be realized in March 2025.

The second major event will be a five-round battle between former BMF champions Justin Gaethje and Dan Hooker.

The two most vicious fighters in the lightweight division, they will get involved in a fight that will attract a lot of attention with the potential to be the leading candidate for this year's fight.

Gaethje (25-5) returned to action after suffering a knockout defeat to Max Holloway which cost him the BMF title at UFC 300. He has a 2-2 record in his last four fights.

While Hooker was the winner of three consecutive fights by beating Claudio Puelles, Jalin Turner, and Mateusz Gamrot.