Two championship fights in one night, and a star-studded card took place at the T-Mobile Arena. A historic rematch in the light heavyweight division, legacy-defining fights, and matchups with huge title contention implications made for one of the best nights of MMA this year. A night of violence that had every fan on their feet screaming, and reminds you why this is one of the bet sports in the world.
UFC 320 Recap:
#14 Abus Magomedov vs Joe Pyfer: Middleweight
In the middleweight division, Abus Magomeda faced Joe Pyer in a high-stakes matchup. Round one saw Pyer shoot for a double leg, but Magomedov immediately threatened with a guillotine. Piper kept pressing for the takedown, only for Magomedov to reverse position and even attempt a scissor submission, though Piper managed to escape. In round two, Pyer turned up the pressure, dropping Magomedov and unloading ground and pound. Magomedov tried to survive by hunting submissions, threatening with an arm triangle and a rear-naked choke, but Piper powered through and secured a submission of his own that put an end to the fight. Pyfer continues his rise through the middleweight division and will surely be in the top-15 fight after this win.
#8 Josh Emmett vs #9 Youssef Zalal
Youseff Zalal made quick work of Josh Emmett to get the round one submission win. Zalal immediately shot in for a double leg takedown and got in. From there, he got right to work with his Jiu-Jitsu, in which he is a technician. He maneuvered around Emmett and locked in a submission early in the first round and in quick fashion. Because Emmett had no hands free to tap, he had to do it verbally, which is not something you see often. Zalal continues his UFC win streak and is looking for a top-5 opponent in his next fight.
#2 Jiri Prochazka vs #4 Khalil Rountree Jr: Light Heavyweight
In one of the wildest finishes you will see, Jiri Prochazka gets the chaotic knockout against Khalil Rountree in the third round. In the first two rounds, Rountree had the upper hand. The pure technician in Muay Thai was using his clean striking and great technique to put the pressure on Jiri. Using a good jab and thudding kicks to keep Prochazka at bay. Jiri was landing good shots two and even hurt Rountree at one point with a spinning back elbow. All the momentum was on Rountree’s side going into the third round but this is where Prochazka thrives. With Rountree’s gas tank almost on empty, Jiri went right to work and brought the storm of chaos towards Rountree. Out of nowhere, Jiri caught a second wind and made the fight ugly. Constantly hitting Rountree with everything in his arsenal. Midway through the third, Jiri hurt Rountree and put his foot on the gas. Everything Jiri threw after that seemed to land and it was only a matter of time. Prochazka landed a huge left hand that would end it all and leave Rountree on the ground cold. Jiri has never lost a fight that wasn’t against Alex Pereira and he is again up for a title in his next fight.
#4 Cory Sandhagen vs (C) Merab Dvalishvili: Bantamweight Championship
Merab Dvalishvili continues his dominant reign as champion and likely cemented himself as the greatest bantamweight of all time with his unanimous decision against Cory Sandhagen. Sandhagen had a good first round and fought behind his jab and chewed up Merab’s legs well. Merab managed to hold Cory against the fence and even get a takedown but Cory stood right back up. After the first round it was all Merab. In the second round he unleashed a flurry of punches on Sandhagen that almost almost had him out. Sandhagen managed to survive put the suffocating pressure of Merab started to take over. For the rest of the fight Merab did what he does best. Smothering takedowns and clinches against the fence that Sandhagen had no answer for. Cory fought well but Merab showed why he is on another level. Merab gets the unanimous decision win and continues his path towards GOAT status. He wants to fight before the end of the year and Petr Yan is waiting in the rafters for a rematch. If he isn’t already the greatest bantamweight, another win against Petr Yan will cement his legacy.
#1 Alex Pereira vs (C) Magomed Ankalaev: Light Heavyweight Championship
Alex Pereira is back on the mountain top after his lethal performance against the champion Magomed Ankalaev. Pereira was the long reigning champion in Light Heavyweight before Ankalaev took his crown in his last fight. Pereira claimed that he had a broken hand in the fight and was sick whih at first could have been passed as excuses. But after what Pereira did there was no question that something was wrong in their first fight. Pereira came out like a different man than anyone had seen to date. He immediately walked Ankalaev down and used his patented leg kicks. It looked like an animal hunting their prey and after the leg kicks took effect, Pereira landed a big right hand that dropped Ankalaev. Ankalaev shot a takedown but was stuffed right away. From there, Pereira smashed Ankalaev on the ground with 12-6 elbows to the face and body. After almost 20 unanswered shots, referee Herb Dean stopped the fight. Within 90 seconds, Alex Pereira took back his crown and reclaimed his place as the biggest superstar in the sport. This was on of the most impressive performances of Pereira’s career and he now has unlimited options under his belt moving forward. The fight that everyone wants to see is him vs heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall. With a win, Pereira will become the first fighter ever to hold the belt in three weight classes. He is already one of the greatest UFC fighters ever and he did it in just a couple years. He might be in the greatest if all time conversation with a win over Aspinall. We will have to wait and see.
