UFC 320 fight card — Magomed Ankalaev vs. Alex Pereira 2: Five biggest storylines to watch in Las Vegas

A must-see light heavyweight title rematch tops the marquee on Saturday in a UFC 320 pay-per-view event from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Magomed Ankalaev makes the first defense of his 205-pound title in the main event as he welcomes Alex Pereira in an immediate rematch just six months after Ankalaev scored a unanimous decision to take the belt. In the co-feature, bantamweight king Merab Dvalishvili aims for the third defense of his title when he welcomes Cory Sandhagen.

As we draw closer to the fights this weekend, let’s take a closer look at the biggest storylines. 

1. A refocused and healthy Alex Pereira is a very, very dangerous man

Despite the shock of seeing him stuff all 12 takedown attempts by Ankalaev in their UFC 313 title bout, Pereira’s decision loss was a decidedly underwhelming performance. Gone was the constant threat of the knockout from the stalking Brazilian slugger as the more technical Ankalaev kept him on the back foot throughout thanks to steady pressure. After the fight, UFC analyst Joe Rogan publicly shared that Pereira had battled both a broken hand and a bout with norovirus, to which the proud Pereira never confirmed nor made excuses about. Fighting hurt and taking big risks with his matchmaking has become Pereira’s calling card, including an insane 175-day stretch in 2024 in which he made three title defenses despite battling a number of physical ailments. But when Pereira told CBS Sports last week that he was just 40% of himself in the Ankalaev fight and was shocked he even made it to the Octagon given everything he endured during training camp, it might be worth taking his word on it. 

Pereira’s trainer, former UFC champion Glover Teixeira, mentioned on “UFC Countdown” that the training camp for UFC 320 was much different than prior bouts, when Pereira often traveled throughout the build to his title fights to make public appearances. This time, they focused exclusively on rebuilding Pereira’s gas tank at age 38 and the always stoic “Poatan” has appeared uncharacteristically agitated this time whenever Ankalaev is mentioned, including during a run-in the two had at the UFC Performance Institute last week where Pereira accused his opponent of hiding from him out of fear. An injured and ill Pereira might have been neutralized in their first meeting but the fight was still close on the scorecards as Pereira rallied in Round 5 to narrowly lose by a score of 48-47 on two of three judges’ scorecards. Expect a hungry Pereira to be much more aggressive in their rematch, which is a scary thought to consider. 

2. Pereira isn’t the only one who can improve upon his performance in March

Despite winning the title in a smart performance that saw the 20-1-1 Ankalaev extend his unbeaten streak to 14 fights since he lost his UFC debut in 2018, the native of Dagestan, Russia, wasn’t overly exciting or commanding in doing so. It’s probably the biggest reason why UFC matchmakers chose to go the way of an immediate rematch. The good news for Ankalaev is that he acknowledged his shortcomings during a sitdown on “UFC Countdown,” where the 33-year-old admitted he should’ve followed through with more offense when he had Pereira visibly hurt and/or backing up. Passivity against elite competition has sometimes been an issue for Ankalaev, who has predicted he will finish Pereira in the rematch. Given the intensity in Pereira’s eyes this week, he may have to in order to win. 

3. Merab Dvalishvili enters the most difficult style challenge of his title reign

Ranked in the top five pound-for-pound and riding an insane 13-fight winning streak since losing both of his first two fights in the UFC, the 34-year-old Dvalishvili continues to be a nearly unstoppable force at 135 pounds. A victory on Saturday would make the native of Georgia just the eighth UFC champion in any division to make three title defenses in the same calendar year (and he’s already stated his hope of adding a record fourth in December). Yet, even with his recent dominance and incredible displays of relentless cardio, Dvalishvili is expected to have his hands full with the lengthy and awkward Sandhagen. There isn’t an MMA skill that the well-rounded Sandhagen doesn’t possess and both his constant movement and creative striking attacks have the potential to be problematic for the champion. Sandhagen also has a strong gas tank of his own and has weathered the storm of disappointment in recent years after losing multiple close fights against top contenders that would’ve lifted him into a title shot. At 33, this could be Sandhagen’s final shot at glory and the experience he brings will be key as he looks to slow Dvalishvili down and turn the fight into a chess match.  

4. A slugfest is expected as top five light heavyweights look for title return

Buckle your seatbelts! Nothing short of fireworks are expected when former 205-pound champion Jiri Prochazka welcomes former title challenger Khalil Rountree Jr. in a battle of exciting sluggers with legit title implications at play. Yes, it’s true that the winner might ultimately take a backseat to Carlos Ulberg, the New Zealand contender who improved his win streak to nine last Saturday when he knocked former two-time title challenger Dominick Reyes out in Round 1. Ulberg is even more likely to get the call should Pereira regain the title, mostly because he knocked out both Prochazka and Rountree in his last two victories in 2024. But with the combination of a shallow contender pool and rampant parity at light heavyweight, the winner of Prochazka-Rountree will be in the driver’s seat for a huge fight, especially considering both have momentum after each scored stoppage wins over former champion Jamahal Hill earlier this year. At 35, Rountree’s resurgence into a legit title threat has been fun to watch. But no one brings the fun quite like Prochazka, who, outside of two knockout title losses to Pereira, has finished all five of his UFC wins and hasn’t gone the distance in a pro fight since 2016. 

5. Patchy Mix quietly returns on the early prelims after demoralizing debut

It was only three months ago when Mix, a 32-year-old free agent and former Bellator MMA champion brought his 20-1 record into the UFC for a debut fight against Mario Bautista that possibly would’ve lifted him to an immediate title shot had he won. Unfortunately for Mix, he was brutally battered in a one-sided decision loss that saw his stock take an insane hit. Despite having entered UFC fresh off of consecutive wins over James Gallagher, Kyoji Horiguchi, Magomed Magomedov (twice), Raufeon Stots and Sergio Pettis, Mix suddenly finds himself buried on the early prelims on Saturday against a debuting Jakub Wiklacz, who is fresh off of a run as KSW bantamweight champion. Oddly enough, the same thing recently happened to Mix’s significant other, Tatiana Suarez, who went from a brutal strawweight title loss to Zhang Weili in the co-main event of UFC 312 in February to returning far off the radar on the prelims of Noche UFC in September. While it’s likely premature to say Mix’s job is on the line, he undoubtedly is in need of a huge bounce-back performance more in line with the capabilities he has shown in his pre-UFC run.