UFC 320: Ankalaev v Pereira 2 Predictions

The co-headliner at the T-Mobile Arena will see Merab Dvalishvili defend the bantamweight title against Cory Sandhagen, and in a third blockbuster bout, top-five light heavyweights Jiri Prochazka and Khalil Rountree Jr will collide in a title eliminator.

Plus, Josh Emmett and Youssef Zalal face off in a clash of top-10 featherweights, and dangerous middleweights Abus Magomedov and Joe Pyfer throw down.

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Back and forth battle for 5 rounds in their first bout 👊

The light heavyweight title will be on the line again when they meet Saturday night! #UFC320 pic.twitter.com/CfJsvVlJN9

— UFC (@ufc) September 30, 2025

Magomed Ankalaev (1.40) v Alex Pereira (2.95) (Light Heavyweight Championship)

When: Sunday, October 5, 4:00 AM SAST

Champion and challenger return to the venue of their first fight with the roles reversed after the surging Ankalaev (21-1-1) dethroned Pereira (11-3) as king of the light heavyweights by decision in March.

The Russian did more than that, though. He made the Brazilian phenom look human. Facing an elite grappler, the threat of the takedown made Pereira uncharacteristically timid, transforming him from one of the most feared strikers in UFC history to a frozen imposter for the full 25 minutes of their first meeting.

Having lost his title and his intimidating aura, Pereira needs a big response in the rematch. The onus is on him to take the fight to Ankalaev, even if that means taking some chances. As a methodical marauder, that’s not Pereira’s style, so it’s going to be fascinating to see how he goes about things.

A combat sports legend, “Poatan” ruled kickboxing as a two-division champion in Glory before moving on to mixed martial arts and taking the UFC by storm. He became the fastest fighter to win titles in two different weight classes, following his reign at middleweight with a stellar run at light heavyweight.

After capturing the vacant 205-pound belt with a stoppage win over Jiri Prochazka in 2023, Pereira defended his crown no less than three times last year and did so emphatically, knocking out Jamahal Hill, Prochazka and Khalil Rountree Jr en route to being named 2024 Fighter of the Year.

His loss to Ankalaev in March was his first at light heavyweight and as he’s now the hunter as opposed to the hunted, fans are hoping to see a more aggressive Pereira go scorched earth in the sequel.    

Unbeaten since 2018, Ankalaev’s crowning moment extended his remarkable undefeated run to 15 fights. The slight underdog in the first clash, he’s now a sizeable favourite in the rematch.

“Big Ank” isn’t as exciting a fighter as Pereira, but he’s mightily effective with his grappling-heavy style. He’s not afraid to mix it up on the feet, and his striking is ever-improving, but standing with Pereira, who’s claimed all but two of his mixed martial arts wins by knockout, is always dangerous.

As much as a Pereira win would be better for the division and promotion as a whole, I don’t see it happening. With his one-punch knockout power, Pereira certainly has a shot and is never out of a fight, but Ankalaev is his kryptonite and will leave Las Vegas still the light heavyweight champion of the world.

Prediction: Ankalaev by decision.

Best Bet: Ankalaev by decision at 2.37.

Merab Dvalishvili (1.25) v Cory Sandhagen (3.90) (Bantamweight Championship)

It’s a classic striker versus grappler battle for the bantamweight championship in the co-main event.

Regarded by many as the best bantamweight of all time, Dvalishvili (20-4) will look to add to his legacy and become just the eighth fighter in UFC history to record three successful title defences in a calendar year, after defeating Umar Nurmagomedov in January and Sean O’Malley in June.

He’d also tie good friend and training partner Aljamain Sterling for the most consecutive defences of the 135-pound title. A wrestling phenom unlike any the UFC has ever seen before, the Georgian juggernaut is regarded by many as the best bantamweight ever, and the numbers back that up.

He boasts the longest win streak in bantamweight history at 12, a run that stretches back to 2018. He also continues to stretch his lead of the most takedowns landed in UFC history (97) with each fight, and is in line to become the first fighter to record 100 takedowns inside the Octagon this weekend.

Dvalishvili, who overwhelms opponents with his relentless cardio, also holds the bantamweight record for total strikes landed at 2,233. Aptly nicknamed “The Machine”, he pushes and sustains a superhuman-like pace that no one has been able to keep up with.

The winner of four of his last five fights, Sandhagen (18-5) is a flashy striker who produced highlight-reel knockouts against the likes of Marlon Moraes and former lightweight king Frankie Edgar.

“The Sandman” has eight knockouts and three submissions to his name but hasn’t had a legitimate finish (he won his last fight against Deiveson Figueiredo after the Brazilian suffered an injury) since his doctor stoppage win over Song in 2022.

Since being submitted by Sterling in their interim title fight back in 2020, Sandhagen has added a solid layer of grappling to his game, but he won’t want to engage Dvalishvili on that front. Instead, he’ll look to rely on his speed and perpetual motion to chip away on the outside with his two-inch reach advantage.

Even though the challenger’s grappling has come a long way, Nurmagomedov was able to control him and grind out the win last year, and Dvalishvili showed he’s levels above Nurmagomedov when they fought at the start of the year.

Sandhagen is dangerous on the feet, but Dvalishvili should dictate terms with his pressure and wrestling to hold onto the gold.

Prediction: Dvalishvili by decision.

Best Bet: Dvalishvili by decision at 1.52.

Alternative Bet: Dvalishvili tapped out O’Malley last time out, and as mentioned, his good friend Sterling strangled Sandhagen years ago, so it might be worth going with Dvalishvili by submission at 8.00.

Jiri Prochazka (1.55) v Khalil Rountree Jr (2.37) (Light Heavyweight)

Fireworks will go off in the featured bout as fierce top-five light heavyweights seek to set up a title match with the winner of the main event.

Interestingly, both combatants beat former champion Jamahal Hill last time out. Prochazka (31-5-1) knocked him out in the third round of their fight in January, whilst Rountree (14-6) dominated him over five rounds in June. These victories got both men back on track following knockout losses to former champion Alex Pereira in 2024.

That’s where the similarities end between these two. In No. 2-ranked Prochazka, you have an enigma. A samurai in his soul, “BJP” is captivatingly cold-blooded and unpredictable, a violent artist who boasts no less than 30 finishes (27 knockouts and three submissions) and is driven to reclaim the title he was forced to relinquish due to injury in 2022.

In the fourth-ranked Rountree, you have a highly disciplined and technical striker with nine knockouts to his name. “The War Horse” isn’t afraid of stepping into the fire if need be, as he showed in his gutsy effort against Pereira, but mainly goes about his work methodically.

Prochazka is a paradox in that he’s the king of chaos without being reckless, and that unique ability – along with a three-and-a-half-inch reach advantage – should see him slay his American adversary.

Prediction: Prochazka by knockout.

Best Bet: Prochazka by KO/TKO/DQ at 2.10.

Alternative Bet: Prochazka at 1.55.

Josh Emmett (4.50) v Youssef Zalal (1.20) (Featherweight)

It’s a dance of fire and water in the upper echelons of the featherweight division.

Eighth-ranked Emmett (19-5) is one of the most devastating power hitters the 145-pound ranks have ever seen. He has the nous you’d expect from an Octagon veteran and likes having an opponent who’s willing to trade with him.

He continuously tries to coax his foe into doing just that and his one-punch knockout power means he can finish a fight in the blink of an eye, which adds an extra layer of tension to his fights.

Zalal (17-5-1) isn’t the most aggressive or entertaining fighter, but is on quite a roll. A high-level grappler, “The Moroccan Devil” has won four on the trot since returning to the UFC last March.

He completed a hat-trick of submission wins (he has nine tapout victories overall) before besting Calvin Kattar by decision in February to run his overall win streak to seven and move up to ninth place in the rankings.

Even though Emmett is a bad man with dynamite in his hands, he’s 40 and doesn’t have the best takedown defence (46%). Thus, the younger, better grappler in Zalal – who’s never been stopped – should continue his winning ways.

Prediction: Zalal by decision.

Best Bet: Zalal by decision at 1.57.

Abus Magomedov (3.00) v Joe Pyfer (1.38) (Middleweight)

Middleweights with big goals will get the main card underway.

Many will remember Magomedov (28-6-1) as the surprising main event call-up to face Sean Strickland in 2023. After that TKO loss, he dropped a decision to Caio Borralho but has won all three of his fights since, most recently outworking Michel Pereira in April to break into the rankings at No. 14.

Three years after impressing UFC CEO Dana White on the Contender Series, Pyfer (14-3) is 5-1 inside the Octagon, and is coming off the biggest win of his career over former interim title challenger Kelvin Gastelum.

Gastelum has a legendary chin, so even though Pyfer rocked the Hall of Famer a few times, he had to settle for a rare decision win. Magomedov isn’t nearly as durable, so I’m expecting “Bodybagz” to make it a cool 10 career knockouts.

Prediction: Pyfer by knockout.

Best Bet: Pyfer by KO/TKO/DQ at 2.30.  

Alternative Bet: Under 1.5 rounds at 1.50.