On Saturday, March 8, UFC 313 took place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Alex “Poatan” Pereira returned to the octagon to take on No. 1 contender Magomed Ankalaev for the UFC Light Heavyweight championship. Justin Gaethje also returned this past weekend for a three-round co-main event bout, with Rafael Fiziev. Veterans like King Green and Jalin Turner were also on the main card, fighting UFC prospects Mauricio Ruffy and Ignacio Bahamondes respectively. After a month of Fight Night cards, UFC finally returned to pay-per-view, giving fans one of the most exciting events of the year. In this article, we will go over all five fights on the main card.
King Green vs. Mauricio Ruffy
For the first fight on the main card, Green took on Ruffy in a three-round bout. Green was coming off a submission loss to Paddy Pimblett back in July during UFC 304, a win would keep his name among lightweight contenders. The Fighting Nerds member, and rising star came into the fight as a -550 favorite, riding a three-fight UFC win streak. His most recent win came a few months back at UFC 309, with a unanimous decision over James Llontop.
After a steady two minutes into the fight, Ruffy backed Green up onto the cage, using constant forward pressure. After a faint, Green tried to move out of the way, dropping his gloves while doing so. Ruffy noticed this and threw a beautiful spinning wheel kick, catching the side of Green’s head and knocking him out clean. Ruffy worked his magic again and was able to capture another victory via KO/TKO.
Amanda Lemos vs. Iasmin Lucindo
The fourth fight on the main card was between Brazilian strawweight’s, both ranked top 10 in the division. No. 5 Amanda Lemos faced off against No. 7 Iasmin Lucindo in a three-round bout. After losing by sub to Virna Jandiroba back in July, Lemos looked to get back into the win column. Lucindo came into the fight on a four-fight win streak and was looking to jump in the rankings, and possibly a title shot.
Much to the chagrin of fight fans, there was not much action in the fight, with 12:02 minutes out of the 15 being marked as control time. Only a total of 16 significant strikes were seen throughout the three rounds, with Lemos having 12 to Lucindo’s four. Overall, Lemos was able to use her control time to take home the win by unanimous decision this past weekend and continues her quest for a rematch for the belt.
Jalin Turner vs. Ignacio Bahamondes
The rising star Ignacio Bahamondes walked into UFC 313 with a 6-2 record in the UFC, and a 2-fight KO/TKO win streak. He matched up against UFC veteran, Jalin Turner, who was coming off a knockout loss to Renato Moicano at UFC 300. With a 2-3 record in his last five fights, Turner desperately needed a win to keep his place in the lightweight division’s top 15.
The first round began, and Bahamondes and Turner were throwing all types of punches, each fighter looking to knock the other out. Only 45 seconds into the round Bahamondes attempted a takedown, which Turner defended. While Turner repositioned himself, Bahamondes quickly locked in a beautiful triangle choke, forcing Turner to tap. Bahamondes was victorious, winning only his second ever fight by submission and earning himself a spot in the rankings at 15.
Justin Gaethje vs. Rafael Fiziev
This three-round co-main event was a rematch year in the making. After an amazing fight between the two back in March 2023, which Gaethje won by split decision, these two fighters were back in the octagon together. Fiziev made his return on short notice after previous opponent Dan Hooker pulled out of the fight with a hand injury. Fiziev was coming off a non-contact knee injury and still accepted the fight on two weeks’ notice. Gaethje also returned for the first time since being knocked out by Max Halloway at UFC 300.
As expected, this was a high-level striking match which saw a total of 297 strikes thrown between the two. Gaethje landed 98 total strikes and 72 significant strikes to Fiziev’s 81 total strikes, and 68 significant. During the second round, Gaethje landed a huge upper cut, knocking down Fiziev, leaving him scrambling for safety on the ground. It was clear Gaethje was the better fighter during rounds two and three, as Fiziev started to gas during the last round. Gaethje was declared the winner by unanimous decision, and the No. 3 ranked lightweight confidently called for a title shot against the champ, and number one pound-for-pound fighter, Islam Makhachev.
Alex Pereira vs. Magomed Ankalaev
The main event was finally here, Periera and Ankalaev were facing off after months of back-and-forth talk. Control time played a huge factor in this fight’s unanimous decision, leading to arguments around the whole UFC community. Since joining the light- heavyweight division, Pereira was on a five-fight win streak with four of the wins being all by KO/TKO. He captured the belt back in November 2023 and defended it three times during 2024 against the division’s elite. Ankalaev had not lost in seven years, winning 11 fights with a draw and a no contest over that period of time.
As the fight began, Pereira jumped to an early lead on the scorecards, easily winning the first round using jabs and leg kicks. Some fans around the world believed Ankalaev could not stand and box with Periera, but he proved them wrong, stumbling Pereira at the end of round two. Other fans believed Periera could not hold his own if they were to wrestle. However, this was also proven wrong as he defended all 12 takedowns Ankalaev shot. This proved to be a highly competitive fight, between the division’s absolute best.
The fight went the full distance, which was a first for Periera during his UFC tenure. Ankalaev won on all three scorecards and was crowned champion. The Russian native put on a wonderful performance, out-boxing Pereira with 127 total strikes to Pereira’s 97, and 94 significant strikes to the Brazilian’s 76. Fans believe a rematch is most certainly needed; the question is how soon?