UFC 313 live updates: Results, time for Pereira vs. Ankalaev fight card tonight
Alex Pereira will defend the light heavyweight title against Magomed Ankalaev in the UFC 313 main event.
Pereira, who represents Brazil, enters the fight with a 12-2-0 record and a four-inch arm reach advantage. Pereira has won his last four by knockout. He won the first of a two-fight series against Israel Adesanya and has since bounced back from the loss by winning his next five fights.
Ankalaev is the No. 1 contender for the title and has a two-inch leg reach advantage. He represents Russia and has a 20-1-1 (1 NC) record. He won his last two fights.
The main card also features Justin Gaethje taking on Rafael Fiziev in a lightweight bout and Amanda Lemos will fight Iasmin Lucindo.
USA TODAY Sports has live coverage of today’s action. Follow along for news, updates and highlights.
Round 1: starting soon
Round 1: Lemos and Lucindo spent part of the opening round feeling each other out before the two ended up on the ground for the second half of the period. Lemos controlled the action on the ground for over two minutes after Lucindo developed a cut under her right eye from Lemos’ elbow.
Round 2: Lemos managed to get back on top of Lucindo to take control and throw occasional elbow strikes to the face of Lucindo. A series of boos were heard from the crowd because of the lack of action through the first two rounds.
Round 3: Lucindo’s corner was asking for her to wake up and come out more aggressive in the final period. Lucindo delivered with an aggressive approach that included taking down Lemos and controlling the early part of the round on top of her opponent. Lemos manages to use her feet against the cage to help her get free of Lucindo’s control. Lemos quickly got on top of her opponent to find out the closing moments of the fight and earned the unanimous decision.
Robbie Lawler will be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame this summer. Lawler finished with a 13-6-0 (1NC) record during his career. He had his first UFC fight in May 2002 and won his final fight with a TKO victory over Niko Price in UFC 290 in July 2023.
Round 1: Ruffy stunned Green with a right-handed shot before landing a spin kick to Green’s temple that sent him bouncing back against the cage buckling down on the mat with 2:54 remaining in the first round.
Joshua Van has won six of his last seven UFC fights following the unanimous victory over Tsuruya.
The referee had to call for an official’s timeout twice during the fight after Petrosyan’s leg strikes landed in Ferreira’s groin area. The referee did deduct a point from Petrosyan after the second stoppage. The referee proved to be overly cautious throughout the fight, putting a brief stop to the action again in the second round.
It was Ferreira’s strike to Petrosyan’s hip that led to the stoppage but it was clear on the replay that it wasn’t a dirty strike.
Ferreira brought Petrosyan down to the ground shortly after and performed an armbar in the second round (4:27) to force Petrosyan to submit. Ferreira improves to 13-2 in his career. He’s knocked out nine and submitted four.
The fighters exchanged heavy strikes with Leal landing over 70% of his attempts against Morono. Leal managed to back his opponent against the cage as they exchanged strikes before the referee stepped in to call the match early.
Santos managed to be the more efficient fighter throughout the three-round fight and earned the split-decision victory. Santos improved his win streak to four and felt he managed to win the final two rounds to secure the victory. The crowd expressed their displeasure after the decision was announced.
The highly anticipated matchup between Alex Pereira and Magomed Ankalaev will take place on Saturday, March 8, and can be purchased on ESPN+ PPV.
Early prelim has been updated with a new time of 7 p.m. ET.
All odds are for moneyline bets (as of Thursday), according to BetMGM.
Staff writes regarding Jamahal Hill’s pick: “’I’m going to go with Magomed. I feel he has more tools to win,’ Hill said. ‘Obviously Alex has that one hit wonder. If he catches you, he can put you away, but I believe Magomed also has that. He has the speed, the patience to counter. He’s been in this position before. He already let the title slip out of his hands once before, and I believe he’ll be a lot more focused, locked in for this, and ultimately has more ways to win.’”
Staff writes: “He must use his range and educated striking to find the damaging shots, like he did against Rountree. The key will be leg kicks. Jan Blachowicz damaged Ankalaev’s legs on both sides, and Blachowicz is not nearly as slick setting up those kicks as Pereira is. Despite being a skilled wrestler, Ankalaev has often failed to commit to wrestling, opting to stand and trade, which will put him right in line for Pereira’s leg kicks. If that happens, Ankalaev will be compromised by Round 3, if the fight lasts that long.”
Puneeta Sharma writes regarding Alexander Volkanovski’s pick: “Alex Pereira very dangerous because he puts the pressure on and he can flick stuff out untelegraphed and set things up offensively and then on the counter, very, very, very good on the counter. Hard, hard fight for Ankalaev to stay on the feet. [Ankalaev’s] gonna wanna take it down, he will try and take it down, he might get takedowns… I don’t see him being able to submit Pereira unless Pereira gives something up in his process to building up… I’m gonna go with a favorite on this one, Alex Pereira, KO. I’m gonna go with KO/TKO. I think with him, it’s always a pretty safe bet… I don’t think it’s gonna be early rounds. I’m thinking maybe second or third round TKO.”
The early prelims will be available to stream via ESPN+ and Disney+. The prelims follow with coverage on ESPN News as well as streaming on ESPN+ and Disney+. The main event is available on ESPN+ PPV.
UFC events are available to ESPN+ subscribers for $119.99 for the entire year. You can also purchase a monthly subscription of ESPN+ for $11.99. The PPV is available for an additional $79.99.
Alex Pereira defends his light heavyweight title against Magomed Ankalaev. The event will be held at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
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UFC 313 boasts must-see card with Pereira vs. Ankalev main event.
Lightweight: Jalin Turner vs Ignacio Bahamondes
Women’s strawweight: Amanda Lemos def. Iasmin Lucindo
Robbie Lawler named to UFC Hall of Fame
Lightweight: Mauricio Ruffy def. King Green
Flyweight: Joshua Van def. Rei Tsuruya
Middleweight: Brunno Ferreira def. Armen Petrosyan
Welterweight: Carlos Leal def. Alex Morono
Featherweight: Mairon Santos def. Francis Marshall
UFC 313 Early Prelims results:
UFC 313: Time, PPV, streaming for Pereira vs. Ankalaev
UFC 313 prelim and main card start times
UFC 313: Alex Pereira vs. Magomed Ankalaev card
UFC 313 odds
UFC 313 predictions:
UFC 313 live stream
UFC 313 price
UFC 313 location
Alex Pereira vs. Magomed Ankalaev: Tale of the tape
Main Card:
Prelims:
Early Prelims:
Main Card:
Prelims:
Early Prelims:
MMA Junkie: Jamahal Hill picks Ankalaev
ESPN: Pereira to win by knockout
Sportskeeda: Alex Pereira via KO
| Alex Pereira | vs. | Magomed Ankalaev |
| 12-2-0 | Record | 20-1-1 |
| Brazil | Country | Russia |
| 6-foot-4 | Height | 6-foot-3 |
| 205 pounds | Weight | 204 pounds |
| 79 inches | Reach | 75 inches |
UFC 313: Two Massive Last-Minute Fight Cancellations
ByBrian Mazique
, Contributor.
LAS VEGAS, NV – DECEMBER 10: Dana White appears at the UFC 282 post-fight press conference on … [+]
The UFC 313 card lost two fights just before the action began on Saturday.
No. 5 heavyweight Curtis Blaydes pulled out of his fight with Rizvan Kuniev. According to Blaydes, he came down with the norovirus overnight, and despite efforts to recover, his “body wouldn’t cooperate.”
COLUMBUS, OHIO – MARCH 26: Curtis Blaydes celebrates his KO victory over Chris Daukaus in a … [+]
Blaydes said the fight will be rescheduled for a later date. That makes it the second time the fight has been canceled and in need of a new date.
Originally, Blaydes and Kuniev were supposed to fight in February, but the bout was pushed to UFC 313. Now, we may see it rescheduled yet again.
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – MARCH 07: Rizvan Kuniev of Russia poses on the scale during the UFC 313 … [+]
Blaydes hasn’t fought since he was knocked out by Tom Aspinall in the first round of their rematch in July 2024. Kuniev was hoping to make his main-roster debut.
He earned a spot on the UFC roster with a first-round TKO win over Hugo Canha on Dana White’s Contender Series in August 2024. I’d suspect this fight is rescheduled sometime soon.
In addition to the cancellation of Blaydes-Kuniev, the UFC was also forced to call off the John Castaneda vs. Chris Gutierrez fight.
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – MARCH 07: John Castaneda poses on the scale during the UFC 313 ceremonial … [+]
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Castaneda also fell ill and was unable to compete. It’s unknown whether the illnesses are related. He was originally supposed to fight Douglas Silva de Andrade on March 1, but the latter had medical issues that prevented him from competing.
Castaneda’s fight was pushed to March 8, and Gutierrez stepped up to take the short-notice bout. With the last-minute subtractions from the card, UFC 313 was left with just 10 fights.
Castaneda has now been out of action for nearly a year, with his last fight happening in June 2024. He lost that fight via unanimous decision to Daniel Marcos. Gutierrez knocked off Quang Lee in August 2024, so he’s not dealing with as long of a layoff.
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – DECEMBER 08: In this handout image provided by UFC, Chris Gutierrez poses on … [+]
Perhaps he gets rebooked in the near future. It’s possible this fight could be rescheduled for an upcoming card over the next two months.
Luckily, none of the fights that were pulled from the lineup came from the pay-per-view portion of the show.
Here is a look at the updated card.
Date: Saturday, March 8, 2025
Location: T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada
Main Card: 10:00 PM ET | Prelims: 8:00 PM ET | Early Prelims: 6:00 PM ET
Be on the lookout for coverage of every finish that occurs during the event. You can see every finish from UFC 313 here.
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UFC 313: Expert picks, best bets for Pereira vs. Ankalaev
The UFC’s most active champion makes his first Octagon appearance of 2025, as Alex Pereira puts his light heavyweight title on the line against Magomed Ankalaev in the main event at UFC 313 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday night (10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV, with prelims at 8 p.m. on ESPNEWS/ESPN+/Disney+ and early prelims at 6 p.m. on ESPN+/Disney+).
Pereira, ESPN’s No. 2 pound-for-pound fighter, has beaten his last four opponents by knockout. Most recently, he scored a fourth-round TKO over Khalil Rountree Jr. at UFC 307. Ankalaev, ESPN’s No. 2-ranked light heavyweight, enters the fight riding a 13-fight unbeaten streak dating back to September 2018.
In the co-main event, fan favorite Justin Gaethje takes on Rafael Fiziev in a rematch of their March 2023 fight, which Gaethje won by majority decision. Fiziev took this fight on short notice, after Gaethje’s original opponent, Dan Hooker, was forced to withdraw due to injury on Feb. 25.
Andreas Hale spoke to MMA analyst and former UFC welterweight Alan Jouban to get his perspective on the UFC main event. ESPN betting expert Ian Parker adds insight and analysis on the main event and other intriguing bets he likes on the card.
Editor’s note: Responses have been edited for brevity and clarity.
How Pereira wins: He must use his range and educated striking to find the damaging shots, like he did against Rountree. The key will be leg kicks. Jan Blachowicz damaged Ankalaev’s legs on both sides, and Blachowicz is not nearly as slick setting up those kicks as Pereira is. Despite being a skilled wrestler, Ankalaev has often failed to commit to wrestling, opting to stand and trade, which will put him right in line for Pereira’s leg kicks. If that happens, Ankalaev will be compromised by Round 3, if the fight lasts that long.
How Ankalaev wins: Don’t try to kickbox with Pereira in the center of the Octagon for 25 minutes. He could land something big to get the win, but that’s not ideal against a heavy hitter like Pereira. Ankalaev has to mix things up early in the fight and put Pereira against the fence. No one wants to do that against Pereira because of the chance of getting caught with a big shot while coming in, but if he can avoid Pereira’s power, he could put Pereira against the fence and make him work. Eventually, he will have to use single-leg takedowns to get Pereira on the mat.
X factor: Cage grappling. It will be up to Ankalaev to close the distance and put Pereira against the fence. If Ankalaev is successful, he has a chance to win. If not, he’ll be in a lot of trouble.
Prediction: Pereira to win by knockout.
Odds accurate as of publication. For the most up-to-date odds, visit ESPN BET.
Parker: Ankalaev to win (-105). I am a huge fan of Pereira, and he has cemented himself as an MMA legend, but stylistically, Ankalaev has the skills to match him on the feet and will have a huge advantage if this fight goes to the ground. I’m taking the slight underdog. As long as Ankalaev can avoid the early leg kicks from Pereira, he has more ways to win, and even where Pereira might be better, it’s not by much.
Fiziev to win (-170). In their first fight, Gaethje won a close decision, but I’m not overly confident the same result will occur. Fiziev is the better striker, and it’s not even close. However, Gaethje’s striking volume might have gotten him the nod on the scorecards. Gaethje has a wrestling background but never uses it and he is coming off of a brutal KO loss in his last fight. Assuming this will be a three-round standup fight, give me Fiziev at the current odds.
Bahamondes to win (-125). This should be a fun striking battle. Turner is 1-3 in his last four fights and his last loss — a second-round KO against Renato Moicano at UFC 300 — was arguably his most disappointing. He now takes on a dangerous striker who is riding a two-fight knockout winning streak. I am confident this fight stays standing unless Turner tries to wrestle, as he has a good ground game. The odds say this is a coin flip of a fight, but, if this stays on the feet, Bahamondes will pick Turner apart throughout three rounds.
Petrosyan to win (-155). If Petrosyan can avoid the power and takedown attempts of Ferreira, he will win this fight. Petrosyan has good takedown defense and is a much better striker. He also rarely makes mistakes. On the other hand, Ferreira tends to get reckless. Take Petrosyan to bounce back and get in the win column.
UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira puts his title on the line against first-time challenger Magomed Ankalaev in the main event at UFC 313 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday night.
Pereira, ESPN’s No. 2-ranked pound-for-pound fighter, made three title defenses in 2024. Ankalaev enters the fight riding a 13-fight winning streak. His lone UFC loss was in his promotional debut in May 2018.
In the main event, Justin Gaethje and Rafael Fiziev clash in a rematch of their closely contested March 2023 fight. Gaethje won that fight by majority decision. Fiziez, who is returning from injury, took this fight on short notice after Gaethje’s original opponent, Dan Hooker, withdrew due to a hand injury.
Andreas Hale, Brett Okamoto and Dre Waters break down all the action from UFC 313.
