"Poatan" officially has his first opponent of 2025.
The light heavyweight champ will defend his belt against No. 1-ranked contender Magomed Ankalaev to headline UFC 313 in Las Vegas, the promotion announced on Saturday.
Pereira enters the bout looking for a fourth consecutive title defence, three of them coming in 2024, and a sixth consecutive win overall. The Brazilian dispatched two former champs Jiri Prochazka (twice) and Jamahal Hill, along with bruising vet Khalil Rountree Jr. en route to his latest title defence.
All of Pereira's bouts during his 205-pound reign have ended via stoppage. His latest victory against Khalil Rountree came via fourth-round TKO in October at UFC 307.
Meanwhile, Ankalaev will take on the champ on Mar. 8 with hopes of extending his win streak to three in a row. The Dagestani enters his first career title shot on the heels of a unanimous decision victory over No. 5-ranked Aleksandar Rakic that improved him to 11-1-1 (and one no-contest) in the UFC.
Pereira will be the 32-year-old's toughest challenge by far, but no one said winning a championship was easy. If Ankalaev is going to take advantage of his elite grappling abilities, he'll have to find a way around the Brazilian champ's lethal striking.
The main event wasn't all that was announced for UFC 313 as a co-main bout between heavy-hitting lightweight's Justin Gaethje and Dan Hooker was also made official.
It'll be Gaethje's first time stepping into an octagon since getting knocked out in jaw-dropping fashion by Max Holloway in the final second of their UFC 300 BMF title fight in April.
On the other side, "The Hangman" will look to make it four wins in a row following wins over Claudio Puelles, Jalin Turner and Mateusz Gamrot. With Gaethje ranked third in the lightweight division and Hooker at No. 6, and neither shy to let their firsts fly, expect plenty of fireworks at T-Mobile Arena in March.
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