T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas will play host to the UFC Octagon as one of the sport’s most popular, and scary, champions returns to action to defend his title at UFC 313.
Brazil’s Alex Pereira is a phenom. A former two-weight kickboxing world champion, “Poatan” switched sports to mixed martial arts and, in just eight fights, had captured the undisputed UFC middleweight title by finishing pound-for-pound superstar – and Pereira’s former kickboxing rival – Israel Adesanya.
Adesanya returned the favour in the rematch, and Pereira moved up to light heavyweight, where he’s been nothing short of unstoppable ever since.
A decision win over former champion Jan Blachowicz marked his entry into the 205-pound class, and since then it’s been knockouts all the way. He stopped former champion Jiri Prochazka twice – with the first seeing him capture the vacant UFC light heavyweight title – and he also sent another former champion, Jamahal Hill, to the shadow realm with a devastating, show-stopping KO at UFC 300 last year.
More recently, Pereira stopped Khalil Rountree Jr. to claim his third straight title defence. Now he’s going for four in a row against the dangerous Russian contender Magomed Ankalaev, a Dagestani wrecking machine who has lost just once in his entire career, and has the ability to finish fights on the feet and on the ground.
STAND WITH PEREIRA AT YOUR PERIL
Despite Pereira’s terrifying knockout power, Ankalaev has stated that he’ll happily stand with him during Saturday night’s contest. Given how he approaches his fights, that shouldn’t be a huge surprise, but nonetheless, the Russian also possesses a solid wrestling and grappling game that, you’d imagine, might offer a better route to victory.
That’s because every second you stand in front of Pereira is one second closer to being separated from your consciousness. Pereira has otherworldly punch power, and backs up those heavy hands with a thumping arsenal of kicks, too.
It means that a split-second of hesitation could end up with you waking up staring at the arena lights, and that’s a very real possibility if Ankalaev looks to stand and trade with Pereira for any serious length of time
ANKALEV HAS TO WRESTLE
Wrestling simply has to be Ankalaev’s main tactic on Saturday night, but we’ve seen him make some tactically questionable decisions in his fights before. In the main, he’s gotten away with it, but against Pereira he won’t have that luxury.
If Ankalaev can get Pereira off his feet, onto the mat, and keep him there, he could grind his way to a decision victory, or perhaps even a submission finish, if he can find one. But while Pereira is very much a striking-first fighter, he’s been relentlessly working his wrestling and grappling ahead of his last few fights, under the watchful eye of head coach Plinio Cruz and his mentor, former UFC light heavyweight champion Glover Teixeira.
If Ankalaev can’t keep Pereira down, or worse, can’t get him down, he’s in big trouble. And even if he can get him to the mat, if he can’t do anything with him, he faces the possibility of the impatient Las Vegas crowd jeering his work, and the potential for the referee standing them back up. Then they’re back in Pereira’s world.
CAN POWER BEAT PRESSURE?
With Ankalaev’s best shot at victory on the mat, and Pereira’s sweet spot on the feet, whoever can dictate where the fight is contested should ultimately win the fight.
For Ankalaev to win, he’ll likely have to grind out a decision using his wrestling. But with every round starting standing up, and Ankalaev needing a takedown in each of the five rounds in order to get there, that’s a huge ask for the two-time title challenger.
Pereira, meanwhile, has just one job – detonate one of his explosive shots on Ankalaev’s chin. We’ve never seen the Russian badly rocked in a fight, but Pereira is no ordinary striker. If he clips Ankalaev clean, he’ll go down, just like everyone else.
In short, Pereira’s power is his X-factor. He can be losing each and every minute of the fight, and it won’t matter a jot if he lands something big before the final bell.
FIGHT PICKS
Backing Pereira to get the job done by KO/TKO is relatively short in the betting, but if you want a little more value, there are some other options available for you to choose from.
#WhatOddsPaddy has a host of featured bets at attractive odds, including Pereira to win and Round 3 to start, the fight to be won (by either fighter) in the 2nd minute of any round or 3rd minute of any round.
Pereira to win and Round 3 to start looks like a solid option, and factors in the possibility of the bout going all the way to the scorecards.
*All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at time of publishing but subject to change.
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