Highlights
- Alex Pereira destroys Magomed Ankalaev to regain the UFC light heavyweight title.
- Merab Dvalishvili successfully defends his title with masterful performance.
- Pereira, Jiri Procházka, Khalil Rountree Jr. and Joe Pyfer earned Performance Bonuses.
Alex Pereira is back at the top of the MMA world. In the main event of UFC 320, Poatan walked directly across the cage and violently smashed Magomed Ankalaev to gain revenge and to regain his UFC light heavyweight title.
It only took 1:20. Wow! Here is a look at the finish.
The taunt at the end was legendary and future Hall-of-Famer Max Holloway recognized.
Praise came in from high places. Justin Gaethje showed Poatan massive respect.
Poatan has added to his case as an all-tiem great. He was already a future Hall-of-Famer, but this win was special. He has now regained two world titles in the UFC in different divisions.
Merab Dvalishvili Puts on a Show
In the co-main event, Merab Dvalishvili added another layer to the argument that he is the greatest bantamweight of all time. The reigning 135-pound king put up another impressive performance as he easily defeated Cory Sandhagen en route to a unanimous decision victory.
Here is a look at the official scorecards.
Immediately after, the MMA world exploded with reaction. Former UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman showed respect to both men, but acknowledged Dvalishvili’s systematic breakdown of Sandhagen.
Sandhagen had a strong first round, keeping his distance and counterstriking well. However, in the second round, Dvalishvili showed the evolution of his game. He stung Sandhagen, nearly finishing him as he dominated the second frame. That was the reason for the 10-8 score on two of the three judges scorecards.
Dvalishvili’s relentless wrestling and cardio ruled the rest of the fight as he secured 20 takedowns to power his successful title defense.
Here is a look at all of the rest of the results, bonuses and highlights of the finishes from UFC 320.
UFC 302 Results — Pereira vs Ankalaev
Main Card
Light Heavyweight Title Bout:
PERFORMANCE of the NIGHT – Alex Pereira def. Magomed Ankalaev — KO, Round 1 (1:20)
Bantamweight Title Bout:
Merab Dvalishvili def. Cory Sandhagen — Decision (Unanimous, 49-46×2, 49-45)
Light Heavyweight Bout:
PERFORMANCE of the NIGHT – Jiří Procházka def. Khalil Rountree Jr. — KO/TKO, Round 3 (3:04) – FIGHT of the NIGHT and
Featherweight Bout:
Youssef Zalal def. Josh Emmett — Submission, Round 1 (1:38)
Middleweight Bout:
PERFORMANCE of the NIGHT – Joe Pyfer def. Abus Magomedov — Submission, Round 2 (1:46)
Prelims
Middleweight Bout:
Ateba Gautier def. Tre’ston Vines — KO/TKO, Round 1 (1:41)
Catchweight Bout:
Daniel Santos def. JooSang Yoo — KO/TKO, Round 2 (0:21)
Bantamweight Bout:
Jakub Wiklacz def. Patchy Mix — Decision (Split, 29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Middleweight Bout:
Edmen Shahbazyan def. Andre Muniz — KO/TKO, Round 1 (4:58)
Early Prelims
Welterweight Bout:
Punahele Soriano def. Nikolay Veretennikov — Decision (Unanimous, 30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Women’s Bantamweight Bout:
Yana Santos def. Macy Chiasson — Decision (Unanimous, 29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Bantamweight Bout:
Farid Basharat def. Chris Gutierrez — Decision (Unanimous, 29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Welterweight Bout:
Ramiz Brahimaj def. Austin Vanderford — Submission, Round 2 (2:24)
Women’s Flyweight Bout:
Veronica Hardy def. Brogan Walker — Decision (Unanimous, 30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
