With UFC 320 now a little more than a week away, the expectation is high for the main event between Magomed Ankalaev and the Rematch of Alex Pereira in Las Vegas. It will be Ankalaev’s first defense of his light-heavyweight title when he won the belt against Pereira on UFC 313 in March. This is undoubtedly a huge fight and perhaps a turning point in the light-heavy weight division, and this is probably Pereira’s last chance to restore his title. Pereira has recently become 3.8, so this is a crucial moment in his UFC career.
In the first fight, Ankalaev saw Pereira’s game completely destroyed in the first fight, while the Brazilian struggled to land something meaning during the fight. Pereira is known for his sensational power, who has seen him for his fight with Ankalaev Ko/Tko four opponents in a row; However, he was unable to hurt Ankalaev because he landed only 11 strikes in the fight. Pereira was successful with his famous legs, especially the calf kick, which he landed 48 times during the fight. Yet he was unable to really practice himself on Ankalaev and eventually lost a unanimous decision.
If Pereira has to win this fight, he will undoubtedly have to find Ankalaev’s head during this fight more often. He has incredible power and is able to hit every hunter in the grid. He treated the removal of Ankalaev well and denied all 12 of the Takedown attempts of the Russian. If he can bring that level of Takedown defense to the Rematch, he will undoubtedly have a big chance to win.
Ankalaev was very impressive in the first fight and showed that his striking massive improved to the point to surpass someone in Pereira, which is considered a world -class kick boxer. It would be difficult for him to imagine that he changes his strategy too much for the rematch. He started a clinch 19 times during the fight and in combination with his 12 Takedown attempts, this undoubtedly wore on Pereira and eventually helped him to win the fight.
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