Magomed Ankalaev won the light heavyweight title on the scorecards, but he is no stranger to devastating finishes in the UFC.
Ankalaev is set to headline Saturday’s UFC 320 pay-per-view in Las Vegas, as the Dagestani defends the 205-pound title for the very first time. Before capturing the belt at Alex Pereira’s expense this past March, the champ enjoyed an up-and-down journey to gold on MMA’s biggest stage.
Ankalaev’s draw against Jan Blachowicz in his first title fight and subsequent no contest against Johnny Walker delayed things for the 33-year-old, but he had long been tipped for the success he eventually found in 2025.
Among the results that signaled Ankalaev as a likely future champion was his second UFC fight, which saw a brutal knockout net the Russian his very first Octagon victory.
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Magomed Ankalaev tore through Marcin Prachnio with a brutal first-round knockout at UFC Moscow
Things did not start well for the current light heavyweight king in the UFC. In his debut, Ankalaev was submitted by Paul Craig with just one second remaining before a certain decision victory was heading his way.
Thankfully for the Dagestani, it did not take long for him to rebound after that March 2018 result in London.
Ankalaev returned six months later on home soil, facing Poland’s Marcin Prachnio on the preliminary card of a UFC Fight Night in Moscow that was headlined by Aleksei Oleinik’s submission win over Mark Hunt.
Like his compatriot in the main event, Ankalaev needed only the first round to get the job done. After rocking Prachnio with a thunderous right hand, the Russian followed up two uppercuts with a brutal head kick. One fan on X referred to it as “some street fighter combo s—.”
After the kick dropped his opponent, Ankalaev shut the lights out with two devastating follow-up shots on the ground.
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Magomed Ankalaev plans to send Alex Pereira to the same fate at UFC 320
Ankalaev has two more first-round finishes in the UFC, the most recent of which came at Ion Cutelaba’s expense in 2020. The Dagestani is seemingly keen for another and hopes for it to come when he runs it back with Pereira.
Almost seven months after Ankalaev beat Pereira at UFC 313 via unanimous decision to win the light heavyweight title, the newly crowned champ must repeat the feat against ‘Poatan’, this time in defense of the gold.
While he needed the full five rounds the first time around, Ankalaev is envisioning a quicker triumph in Saturday’s UFC 320 main event.
“This fight will be completely different,” Ankalaev said during the UFC 320 Countdown episode. “This second fight, it’s not a chance for him to win. It’s a chance for me to finish him early. To dominate Alex Pereira.”