Alex Pereira will put his light heavyweight title on the line for a fourth time against Magomed Ankalaev in the main event of UFC 313 on March 8 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
The fight was announced during the broadcast of UFC 311.
Pereira (12-2) is coming off a stellar 2024 with three successful title defenses in 175 days. "Poatan" kicked off the year by knocking out Jamahal Hill at UFC 300, returned on short notice to stop Jiri Prochazka at UFC 303 and capped off the year with a TKO stoppage of Khalil Rountree Jr. at UFC 307.
Pereira's fourth title defense might be his toughest to date. Ankalaev (19-1-1), who is known for his grappling, is coming off a unanimous decision win over Aleksandar Rakic at UFC 308. He has long been after a fight with Pereira and will get his wish in March.
The co-main event will be a five-round lightweight showdown between former BMF champion Justin Gaethje and Dan Hooker. Two of the most violent strikers in the lightweight division, they will engage in a fight that will garner a lot of attention with the potential to be an early front-runner for fight of the year.
Gaethje (25-5) is back in action after suffering a knockout loss to Max Holloway to drop the BMF championship at UFC 300. He is 2-2 in his past four fights. Hooker is a winner of three consecutive fights with victories against Claudio Puelles, Jalin Turner and Mateusz Gamrot.
