UFC 313 is in the books, and for the first time in 2025, there’s a new UFC champion.
On Saturday, in the main event of UFC 313, Magomed Ankalaev finally claimed the light heavyweight title, taking a unanimous decision win over Alex Pereira in an extremely close fight. The loss is Pereira’s first at light heavyweight, and wasn’t one everyone agreed with, but nevertheless, it’s now “Big Ank Time.”
Plus, in the co-main event, Justin Gaethje did it again, outlasting Rafael Fiziev in their rematch to re-insert himself into the lightweight title picture one more time.
So with plenty to talk about coming off the latest pay-per-view entry, MMA Fighting once again gathered the brain trust to break down the big topics coming off of UFC 313.
1. What is your blurb review of UFC 313?
Lee: Big Ank Time. It’s catchy! The new sensation that’s sweeping the nation. All the cool kids are saying it, really.
Heck: A pretty tasty meal, but a dessert that tasted OK, but didn’t go down as well as expected — although the chef is not to blame (more on that in a moment).
Martin: Another falling star. Conor McGregor, Sean O’Malley, and now Alex Pereira.
Meshew: A card that was decent on paper and more fun than I anticipated … until the main event kind of put a hex on the whole damn thing.
2. Did the right guy win the main event?
Meshew: Sure?
Watching live, I scored the fight for Pereira, but that was far from ironclad. I gave Pereira slight edges in rounds 1, 3, and 5, but if you want to flip any of those, it’s not completely egregious, and upon rewatch I actually did flip Round 5 to score for Ankalaev. This is simply one of those very close fights where neither guy could be too upset with whatever the scorecards ended up being.
Ultimately, I think the two most clear-cut rounds were 2 and 4, both for Ankalaev, meaning you had to let Pereira sweep the close rounds to win. Doing so is acceptable, but also, that sort of feels generous in rounds that were pretty much toss-ups. And while this isn’t how fights are scored, I do believe Ankalaev had the biggest moments in the fight and thus he feels like a deserving winner, even if it’s kind of a bummer since everyone loves “Poatan.”
Lee: Somehow, it is so.
As thrilling as Pereira’s run has been, and as deserving as he is of all the pound-for-pound praise he’s received, it’s entirely possible Ankalaev has been the best light heavyweight in the world this whole time. Were it not for a disappointing title fight draw against Jan Blachowicz, and a pair of truly wasteful rematches with Johnny Walker and Ion Cutelaba, Ankalaev would have been put up against top-tier competition more frequently and probably already be champion.
Nature has righted itself, though, and the man with the 14-fight unbeaten streak finally has gold around his waist.
In regards to scoring, I had it 48-47 Pereira, but this was a subpar performance for Poatan, and Ankalaev worked his game plan to perfection. Constant pressure, masterful footwork, and, yes, timely wrestling were the keys to solving the Pereira puzzle, and Ankalaev did just enough to beat him to the finish line.
Heck: I guess?
To be an open book, during the UFC 313 Watch Party, I scored the fight 48-47 Pereira. I thought Poatan very clearly won the first and fifth rounds, while Ankalaev got the second and fourth. It all came down to the third round, which I scored for Pereira watching live. While my score of 10-9 Pereira remains in the re-watch, I certainly understand scoring it for Ankalaev, despite Pereira landing more. Yes, there was a moment where Ankalaev landed clean, and the broadcast made it appear as if the shot led to a “stumble,” or Pereira was “hurt,” but it seemed to be more of a footing situation than anything else.
Again, if you scored it for Ankalaev, it’s understandable and fine.
The bigger takeaway from this fight upon the rewatch is that I put the lion’s share of the blame for the main event not being super fun on Pereira. Much like I did in the aftermath of UFC 276, and the stinker between Israel Adesanya and Jared Cannonier, if one fighter is going to hand the other a victory, you say “thank you” and run with it. Ankalaev did that, and kudos to him, even thought it was quite clear Pereira didn’t have his fastball.
Martin: The right guy won, but it wasn’t a blowout by any means.
I had the fight scored 48-47 for Ankalaev, and I felt pretty good about that result when the fight was over, although it really came down to round three for me. It was a pretty even round for the most part, but there was a late punch from Ankalaev that seemingly stunned Pereira momentarily, and that’s what ultimately swayed me to go for the Russian. Truth be told, the only truly definitive round was the second when Ankalaev stumbled Pereira with that huge left hook, but with only 15 seconds left to go, he couldn’t swarm too much to go for the finish.
It must be noted that Pereira has no one to blame but himself for the way the fight played out. He allowed Ankalaev to constantly put forward pressure on him with no repercussions. Outside of those calf-kicks early in the fight, Pereira just sat back and waited way too much, and he never really threatened Ankalaev enough to back him off. He can complain about the clinch situations and call it boring, but that’s a tactic in mixed martial arts. If he can’t break free, or make Ankalaev pay for that move, that’s on Pereira and nobody else.
3. Where does Justin Gaethje go from here?
Lee: Justin Gaethje vs. Rafael Fiziev 2 was another banger as expected. Unfortunately, the win also didn’t do much for Gaethje’s stock, also as expected.
“The Highlight” has the popularity, cachet, and company approval to ease into a title shot whenever, but it makes just as much sense to re-book the Dan Hooker fight or book him as the test Arman Tsarukyan has to pass to regain his No. 1 contender status. There just wasn’t a lot for Gaethje to gain by beating Fiziev again, as fun as it was to watch.
I expect the Hooker bout to be set up again in a few months after which we’ll revisit this question.
Heck: As I’ve been saying for many years now, availability is your best friend in today’s UFC, and it couldn’t be more true in the lightweight division. Whether it’s against Islam Makhachev, or somebody else, there’s a very real world Gaethje fights for the lightweight title next — I just don’t think he will.
It appears we’re on the path towards a Makhachev vs. Ilia Topuria matchup — unless Jack Della Maddalena beats Belal Muhammad for the welterweight title at UFC 315 because that changes everything. But in a world where everything is somewhat normal, I’d be incredibly fascinated by a Gaethje vs. Arman Tsarukyan fight. It would be a tremendous test for both guys, and the winner would have a near undeniable case to fight for the toughest title to win in all of MMA.
If Makhachev does end up moving up to welterweight, the winner of that fight vs. Charles Oliveira for the vacant title would be fun as hell.
Martin: Back to another big fight, and probably another bonus, but unlikely that a title shot awaits him next.
It was actually kind of stunning to see how many people were doubting Gaethje going into Saturday night. Yes, he got flattened in the worst way possible by Max Holloway at UFC 300, and there’s a real world where his chin getting cracked meant Gaethje wouldn’t be able to take those punches any longer, but at least give the guy one more fight to see how that plays out. Not only did he take Fiziev’s punches, but he dished out the most punishing shots all night long.
As far as what comes next — Gaethje doesn’t put on boring fights so his options are limitless. My suggestion during UFC 313 was allowing Gaethje to welcome Ilia Topuria to lightweight to see if the former 145-pound king is really built for the bigger division. Topuria is a savage, but he also got tuned up by Jai Herbert in his lone appearance at 155 pounds. In my humble opinion, he needs a win before getting a shot at Makhachev. Beating Gaethje does the job, and it would be a huge fight for as long as it lasted.
Meshew: Screw it, boys, let’s live a little! Give Justin Gaethje a friggin’ title shot!
Look, I understand all of the reasons not to let Gaethje fight for the belt again, but have you considered this: don’t be such a dweeb. Gaethje is the most exciting fighter in the history of MMA. He has literally never been in a boring fight. Now he just did the UFC a solid by taking a fight with immense risk, and zero upside, and delivered the goods once again. The UFC essentially did the same thing for Dustin Poirier last year and not a single person was upset. Same principles are at play here.
Plus, Gaethje was in line to get a lightweight title shot a year ago until the UFC screwed up its booking schedule and needed to put him vs. Max Holloway on UFC 300 because the biggest card in promotional history was in desperate need of juice. In a world where the UFC was better at its job, Gaethje would have already fought Makhachev. Now we can get that world anyway.
But also, there’s no wrong way to eat this Reese’s. You could book Gaethje against a dime store mannequin and he’d still make it Fight of the Night. Hooker, Topuria, Tsarukyan, any of them are also fine. But I’m daring to dream.
4. Who is the biggest loser of UFC 313?
Lee: Dana White, though really only from a critical standpoint.
There’s no way around it, the championship situation is a mess right now outside of a few divisions, and the most exciting titleholder just lost his belt. His heavyweight champion is being picky with his meals, Ilia Topuria just vacated the featherweight title, and Magomed Ankalaev, Merab Dvalishvili, Belal Muhammad, Valentina Shevchenko, and Zhang Weili all have styles that aren’t the most appealing to the casual fan, to put it kindly.
Don’t get me wrong, White and the UFC train show no signs of slowing down business-wise (get ready for UFC Des Moines to shatter U.S. gate records!), but there is an undeniable lack of buzz around the product, which has to sting the ego a little. Hopefully, Uncle Dana has enough spare hundreds lying around to soak up the tears.
Heck: Based on Q rating, it has to be ESPN, and it’s not particularly close.
When half of the UFC roster — past and present — are blasting ESPN for it’s application not working after ordering the pay-per-view (some multiple times), that’s some awful PR right there. I had issues, personally, with ESPN+ during the prelims. Fortunately, it fixed itself and I had no further issues.
But even during the Watch Party, there were A LOT of fans expressing their displeasure for ordering, and paying for the main card, but weren’t able to watch it. And in a year where the UFC is negotiating its broadcast streaming and television rights, it’s not a good look at all.
Martin: Truth be told, Mr. Heck is correct — ESPN took one on the chin on Saturday night, but just for the sake of another option, let’s go with Alex Pereira.
MMA is a cruel sport and all the star power and attraction can’t save you from a bad night at the office. Pereira felt that on Saturday when he just couldn’t get going against Ankalaev, and the end result was a loss and the end of his title reign. Now, Pereira didn’t get demolished and all signs are pointing toward an immediate rematch. But like it or not, the perception of “Poatan” leading into UFC 313 was that he was distracted after jet-setting to Australia just a few weeks before his fight to corner Sean Strickland and was simply not focused on the most dangerous opponent he faced since moving to 205 pounds.
That noise is only going to get louder now that Pereira actually lost, and the talk about him getting Jon Jones or Tom Aspinall is dead and buried. Add to that, his 38th birthday is fast approaching in July, and the clock is ticking on him getting a few more big fights in before father time catches up to him.
Meshew: I’m sorely tempted to go with Magomed Ankalaev because fans are livid about his win, but he did take home the belt and that’s more important. So in light of that, I’m going with Jalin Turner.
I’m not sure there has been a bigger believer in Turner than I have been over the past few years, but things finally came to a head on Saturday night. Not only did Turner lose to Ignacio Bahamondes (his fourth loss in his past five fights), but he did so badly. Turner has mountains of talent, but sometimes makes massive mental mistakes, and this fight was no exception as he basically put himself into the fight-ending triangle.
The loss was so deflating, that despite being just 29 years old, Turner retired from MMA. He gave an emotional and revealing interview with Aaron Bronsteter after the fight where he said retirement has been on his mind for a long time and simply doesn’t have the game in him anymore.
In the end, this will probably be best for Turner. As Dana White says, if you’re thinking about retirement at all, you should hang up the gloves. Turner can move on to the next chapter of his life ,and I wish him well, but on Saturday he didn’t just lose a fight, he lost his whole career, so he is the biggest loser.
5. Outside of the top two fights, who was the hero of UFC 313?
Lee: Mauricio Ruffy.
“Hero” is probably the wrong term here, because as a society, we probably shouldn’t be lionizing folks for kicking people in the head super hard, but if face-planting someone with a wheel kick out of nowhere is considered heroic behavior, then just call Ruffy “Clark Kent” (he already has the glasses for it).
You hate to see King Green go out like that, but you love to see a rising star like Ruffy continue to assert himself as one to watch in MMA’s deepest division. Just like that, Ruffy has put himself on the list of the UFC’s most must-see fighters, and considering he stole the show on a card where Pereira and Gaethje also fought, that’s saying a lot.
Heck: Robert Glenn Lawler.
Congratulations to one of the most fun and game fighters in the history of the sport as he earns his well-deserved place in the UFC Hall of Fame in a little over three months’ time. I said this on Saturday night, and I’ll say it forever — especially since there’s a lot of newer fans hopping on board who have never seen him fight — if you have time, watch all you can of Lawler’s fights, both in and out of the UFC.
Lawler’s title defense where he forever broke Rory MacDonald always gets top billing, and that fight is spectacular, but the UFC 195 fight against Carlos Condit might be the greatest MMA fight ever. And the way “Ruthless” ended his career, chef’s kiss. What a legend!
Meshew: The obvious answer is Mauricio Ruffy (just check out my live reaction), and the correct answer is Robbie Lawler, but I’m morally obligated to choose Door Number 3: Do y’all remember on Saturday when referee Mark Smith did the unthinkable and actually deducted a point from a fighter for breaking the rules?!?!?!?!
I spend an inordinate amount of time on this website railing against the feckless ineptitude of MMA referees for never actually enforcing the rules of MMA. I would be an asshole not to celebrate a referee when he does the right thing for once. I don’t generally think of Mark Smith as a good referee, but he correctly took a point from Armen Petrosyan after multiple low blows and I was shocked and pleased to see it happen.
It was especially nice to see Smith do his job because later on in the evening, Jason Herzog — who I believe is the best ref in the sport and is coming off an event where he admits he should’ve taken a point for fouls — allowed Rafael Fiziev to freely low blow Justin Gaethje without doing anything.
I don’t think Mark Smith is going to save refereeing, but it was still an oasis of reason in the otherwise barren wasteland of nonsensical refereeing ambivalence.
Martin: I’d love to come up with a different answer, but it’s Mauricio Ruffy and his Knockout of the Year contender after he lopped off King Green’s dome. Not to duplicate what my esteemed colleague Alexander K. Lee already said but Ruffy got the UFC 313 pay-per-view main card off to a spectacular start with a jaw-dropping knockout for the ages.
Ruffy really did uncork that kick out of nowhere, and the moment was only made that much more dramatic when Green just slumped face-first to the canvas to end the fight. Visually, that was even better than Terry Etim just falling like a tree getting chopped down when he ate a similar kick from Edson Barboza.
As tiresome as it gets hearing fighters pleading for a bonus, Ruffy’s finish probably did warrant a full $100,000 because damn.
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