UFC 313 is only a few short days away. Saturday night, when the clocks move ahead one hour at 2 am local time, MMA’s top promotion also springs forward with the third premium live event of the new year from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Live coverage of the show kicks off at 6:30 pm ET/ 3:30 pm PT with the early prelims on ESPN+ (stateside) and UFC Fight Pass before moving onto the late prelims at 8 pm ET/ 5 pm PT.
Viewer’s Note: Due to ESPN’s coverage of college basketball between Duke University and The University of North Carolina in the ACC regular season finale, the late prelims of UFC 313 will be joined in-progress at 8:30 pm ET/ 5:30 pm PT on the main channel. Main card action closes out the night at 10 pm ET/ 7 pm PT on ESPN+ pay-per-view.
All told, Saturday’s card is currently expected to feature 12 bouts. Our focus on this day is the marquee fights on the main card.
UFC 313 Main Event: UFC Light Heavyweight Championship: Alex Pereira vs. Magomed Ankalaev
At the top of the bill for the main card on Saturday is the battle for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship. Current champion Alex Pereira (12-2 MMA, 9-1 UFC) makes his fourth defense of the strap against challenger Magomed Ankalaev (20-1-1, 1 NC MMA, 11-1-1, 1 NC UFC.)
This fight is an advertised maximum of five rounds at five minutes per round to close out the show.
Alex Pereira, also known as “Poatan”, has posted a record of 5-0 in his last five fights. Last time out, he defended the 205-lb strap for a third time by way of fourth-round knockout due to uppercuts against Khalil Rountree Jr. (13-6, 1 NC, 9-6, 1 NC UFC) during Oct. 5 UFC 307 main event.
In so doing, Pereira scored a $50,000 (USD) bonus for the Fight of the Night Award at the post-fight press conference. He had an active year in 2024. If Alex Pereira wins the UFC 313 main event, it could be the start of an equally-busy 2025.
Meanwhile, challenger Magomed Ankalaev enters the main event of the evening with a mark of 3-0-1 with one no-contest in his last five fights and is currently on a 12-fight unbeaten streak dating back to September of 2018.
Back in October of last year, he bested Aleksandar Rakic (14-5 MMA, 6-4 UFC) during UFC 308. Rakic dropped his second fight in a row that Saturday in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Ankalaev has proven to be a tough customer at the shop over the past six and a half years. Can he wrest the light heavyweight title away from “Poatan” at UFC 313?
UFC 313 Co-Main Event: Justin Gaethje vs. Rafael Fiziev
Lightweight action serves as the focus of the UFC 313 co-main event between No. 3 contender Justin Gaethje (25-5 MMA, 8-5 UFC) and No. 11 contender Rafael Fiziev (12-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC.) This is a three-round affair at five minutes per round.
Gaethje has gone 3-2 in his last five contests. Last spring, he was on the receiving end of a fifth-round knockout (overhand right) from Max Holloway (26-8 MMA, 22-8 UFC) during UFC 300 for the symbolic BMF championship. The stoppage win by Holloway tied a UFC record for the latest win inside the distance in the promotion’s 32-year history.
He was initially slated to square off against Dan Hooker (24-12 MMA, 14-8 UFC) on Saturday evening before the latter was forced off of the show with a hand injury. Gaethje has had close to a year to figure out what went wrong. What kind of steps has he taken to improve his gameplan?
Across the way, Rafael Fiziev comes into the UFC 313 co-main event with a record of 3-2 over the last five bouts. He’s hit a rough patch of late, dropping two bouts in succession. Most recently, he sustained a leg injury in the second round, forcing his 2023 fight against Mateusz Gamrot to be called off.
Due to the short-notice opportunity, Fiziev had no chance to conduct a full training camp ahead of the bout.
“It’s a big risk,” Fiziev explained. “Nine days short notice, jet lag from the other side of the world, cutting weight, but all this week, I was thinking ‘Every time I have a full camp, I come into fight week a little tired.’ But this time, because I didn’t have a full camp, I’m thinking, ‘Oh, I’m not tired.’ I’m really not tired from camp, I’m feeling good. I miss that so much.”
Will the lack of a training camp help Rafael Fiziev this time around?
UFC 313: Jalin Turner vs. Ignacio Bahamondes
Also on the UFC 313 main card on Saturday night, you’ll see a lightweight fight matching No. 13 contender Jalin Turner (14-8 MMA, 7-5 UFC) with Ignacio Bahamondes (16-5 MMA, 5-2 UFC) Turner enters this weekend’s show having posted a mark of 2-3 in his last five fights.
He’s dropped three out of his last four contests, however, including a second-round knockout (ground and pound shots) at the hands of Renato Moicano (20-6-1 MMA, 12-6 UFC) in April of last year during the landmark UFC 300 at the selfsame T-Mobile Arena where UFC 313 is taking place this weekend. Prior to his recent form, Turner had scored five victories in succession from February of 2020 to July of 2022.
Will UFC 313 on Saturday evening mark the start of another sustained winning streak for Jalin Turner or the end of his time in the top-15 at 155?
In the other corner, Ignacio Bahamondes has posted a 4-1 record over his last five fights. At the moment, he’s won two fights in succession.
Last September, he finished off Manuel Torres (15-3 MMA, 3-1 UFC) by knockout (counter right hand followed by ground and pound shots) with 58 seconds remaining on the first-round clock. A victory over Jalin Turner will mark three in a row and may also give him a number next to his name by Monday morning.
Final Thoughts
Which fight or fights on the UFC 313 main card are you looking forward to? Let us know in the comments.
