The reigning undisputed light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira will be putting his title on the line for a fourth time at UFC 313. He’s stepping up for arguably his toughest challenge, at least on paper, against Magomed Ankalaev, who’s finally getting his chance at the belt after a long time. The Dagestan native has been calling out Pereira for ‘ducking’ him, but he’ll get all the answers when they are locked inside the Octagon this weekend.

There’s not much of a difference in the records of Magomed Ankalaev and Alex Pereira, given that they both have just one and two losses, respectively. But what separates them is ‘Poatan’, having won the title in record time and even defending it three times already. But Ankalaev has a fair share of experience on his side, and some fans believe that he could give Pereira real run for his money. Well, let’s look at the statistics then, shall we?

UFC 313: Alex Pereira vs. Magomed Ankalaev stats

When we take a look at the physical stature of Alex Pereira and Magomed Ankalaev, their walkaround weight is somewhat similar as it ranges between 220-230 pounds. But the Brazilian native has a one-inch height advantage as he stands 6 feet and 4 inches tall. Now when it comes to their MMA record, Ankalaev has eight more professional fighters under his belt than Pereira with a record of 20 wins, 1 loss and 1 draw.

But out of his 20 wins, nine of them have come via decision, which means he does have the gas tank to compete in a 5-rounder fight. Moreover, Magomed Ankalaev also has 9 knockouts wins, but no submission victories to his name, which is surprising given that his style is based on combat sambo and wrestling. Moving over to Alex Pereira, the Brazilian has been the talk of the MMA world for quite a few years now for highlight-reel performances.

With a record of 12 wins and 2 losses, Alex Pereira won more than 80 percent of his fights via knockouts, as he’s got 10 KO wins under his belt with only 2 fights going the distance. Moreover, he replicated the same feat he did back in his kickboxing days in Glory by winning two divisional titles in the UFC. So, with fewer fights than Magomed Ankalaev, Pereira has shined more than his upcoming rival.

However, the stats do not give us a clear picture as to what we can expect this weekend. So, let’s analyze their fighting styles and arrive at a prediction as we gear up for one of the biggest fights of the year.

Pereira vs. Ankalaev breakdown and prediction

Alex Pereira is a master striker, and probably one of the most efficient ones on the UFC roster. With an unmatched level of power in his ‘hands of stone’, the 205-pound champion has put many to sleep, but the one department he’s found himself lacking in is wrestling. Despite having a mentor in Glover Teixeira, who helped him out with the ground game aspect, Pereira has shown finding difficulties in dealing with full-on grappling based fighters like Jan Blachowicz, whom he narrowly defeated at UFC 291.

So, it’s safe to say that Magomed Ankalaev is going to be a difficult one for Alex Pereira because he’s never fought a grappler as good as the Dagestan native. But despite that, the oddsmakers seem to be in favor of ‘Poatan’ defeating his rival. Earlier, Ankalaev seemed to be the favorite, but things have changed and now Pereira stands as the slight favorite over Magomed Ankalaev who is obviously the underdog. Given his recent run of dominating performances, we can assume that the champion has momentum on his side so he could edge past Ankalaev at UFC 313.

Well, everything will be revealed when these two collide at the T-Mobile Arena. Meanwhile, let us know your predictions in the comments down below.