When Pereira Says ‘War,’ He Means the Camp, the Grind, the Fight
UFC 320 is less than two weeks away, and in no time we will see how the rematch between Magomed Ankalaev and Alex Pereira goes. Back at UFC 313 it was Ankalaev who won and took home the light heavyweight title. Now, once again, the title is on the line as two fighters will cross paths at the UFC 320event at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States.
If you haven’t been closely following the upcoming event, there’s more to it than just a rematch between Pereira and Ankalaev. Poatan is one of the biggest UFC stars at the moment, and thus the focus is on the main event at UFC 320. Yet, true fans of MMA will rejoice the rest of the card too. For one, we have a co main event that will feature a fight for the bantamweight title between Merab Dvalishvili and Cory Sandhagen. As if these two fights are not enough, we will also have a light heavyweight classic between Jiří Procházka and Khalil Rountree Jr. Without further ado, let’s present to you every fight that’s going to mark the UFC 320 at the start of October.
Magomed Ankalaev vs. Alex Pereira
Magomed Ankalaev took Alex Pereira at the height of his MMA popularity and took him down at UFC 313. The Brazilian superstar has been eager for a rematch since, and it was evident from the get go that Dana White was going to provide that chance for Poatan. During Stake’s exclusive interview with Alex Pereira, the former light heavyweight champion said that losing the belt during the UFC 313 bout was upsetting. While Pereira’s fans expected yet another win, after five rounds of octagon war, Magomed was a deserved winner, and held the belt deservedly for the last few months. Both the Russian ace and the Brazilian kickboxing sensation, took a few months off, recharged, rested their bodies and mind, and spent weeks in training camp leading to this event.
During their last encounter it was Ankalaev who took an early control of the match by landing front kicks to the body of Pereira while later on controlled his movements by holding Poatan close to the cage wires. Also, it was evident as early as the second round that the big Russian had managed to wobble Pereira to a big extent, and even then it appeared that he had the win wrapped up. Due to the fashion of Ankalaev title win, UFC 320 betting odds favour him in the rematch too. During the summer weeks Big Ank took off, he had enough free time to coin himself a new nickname, so he now goes under the moniker, Hackaliev. If you’ve been following the Russian fighter on social media platforms, you have noticed that in addition to releasing funny statements, he also dedicated much time to wrestling training. This might be a sign that he plans to take the Pereira rematch in that direction which means both fighters could spend more time on the ground at UFC 320.
If we’re going to judge Pereira’s Instagram posts and base expectations for his performance from videos released, the Brazilian l want to focus to keep the match on foot. The focus was on boxing, and that might be where the secret for Pereira’s win lies. Back in the day when his incredible run at the middleweight division started and in the early days of his light heavyweight reign, he took down most of his opponents with heavy kicks and excellent left hooks. The no nonsense style he used amassed him a large following and made him one of the most popular UFC fighters in recent times. Yet, none of it mattered the last time he had to go against Big Ank. He was rather passive, and among his 76 significant strikes the majority was directed at Ankalaev calves. To win against the Russian this time around, Alex will have to be much more active.
While we think that Pereira needs to have a different approach this time around to win the title back at UFC 320, the former champ begs to differ. During his interview for the online casino and sportsbook brand Stake, the Stake ambassador recently stated “I’ve not made too many tactical changes. I would say there are two details that we’re working on that we’re getting corrected. But the reality is there is always room for improvement, there are always mistakes we make in the fight that we try to correct next time and that is kind of the process.”
During the same interview, Poatan stated that he feels as if the light heavyweight belt is naturally his, and that he feels obliged to take it back. When talking about the UFC 313 bout, Alex said this about the defeat: ” Yeah it was upsetting, but now I have the chance to show my work again, and work on doing better and being different. ” Whether he will be able to regain his belt remains to be seen, as both fighters are entering into this match filled with confidence. The same can be said for the fighter participating in the UFC 329 co main event.
Merab Dvalishvili vs. Cory Sandhagen
At the moment, Merab got to be one of the UFCs top performers. He is on a three win streak and has looked more than impressive in each of his bouts. Many are arguing that he has cleared the division and that needs to up his weight, but the Georgian fighter believes he still has work to do in the bantamweight division. When you look at the way he managed to submit Sean O’Malley for his second title defence, and that is not something he normally does, you’d think that there is no stopping him. Dvalishvili already had two successful title defenses, and he remains adamant that a third is on the way, and is already planning his fourth.
Just like Alex Pereira, Merab Dvalishivili is a Stake.com ambassador, and has had an interview with the online casino and sportsbook outlet. During the conversation, Merab said that he didn’t take any extra steps during preparation for his title defence: ” My preparation is like always. I train hard: sparring, wrestling, jiu jitsu, I work out hard. I do everything for preparation in this fight, I’m not doing anything unusual in comparison to before. But preparation is going well.”
While Merab claims that his preparations have been nothing extraordinary we beg to differ. A video emerged showing the Georgian fighter taking extra steps in being prepared for Sandhagen. During the filming of a promotional video for Stake, where The Machine advertises their latest Stake Originals game called Chicken, he partakes in an old school type of training. Just like the famous Rocky Balboa, who chased a roster, Merab was chasing a chicken. The message following the video stated that If you can catch a chicken, you can catch anything.
It would appear that Merab is preparing a new octagon weapon in addition to his relentless pressure and high end grappling. His cardio is on another level, and now after showing us that he is able to catch the chicken, it is going to be elevated even higher. Due to his track record and being a title defender and a top fighter in his prime, the betting odds favour Merab heavily for title defence. He also feels confident and is talking about his next opponent after he takes down Cory Sandhagen, wanting it to be none other than Petr Yan.
Yet, despite Merab’s confidence, Sandhagen is not a fighter to be taken lightly. He, for one, plans to make the best out of his title shot. His main strength is his excellent striking, and in addition to that he holds a significant height advantage over Dvalishvili. The reach advantage worked for Cory in the last few bouts of his, but in the past he was always taken down by the top dogs in the bantamweight division. Because of this, both fans and pundits see Merab as a superior fighter who will have no issues defending his title against Sandhagen. The only chance for Sandhagen at UFC 320 is his strikes and kicks if he manages to land plenty into Merab’s body. The only way to defeat Merab is by slowing him down. Yet, that’s the hardest task there is, as Dvalishvili has some of the best grappling hands in the UFC, and if you go into exchange with him, the chances are you’re going to lose, especially if the bout is not over after two rounds.
Jiri Prochazka vs. Khalil Rountree Jr.
While there are people not rating Prochazka at the moment, the Czech fighter is an MMA royalty. His current score in the sport stands at fabulous 31-5-1, with a fine 5-2 UFC record. Jiri was once a light heavyweight champion, and the bout at the UFC 320 is his chance to get back into the title fight conversation. After a few months of being inactive, he went straight back to winning ways after defeating Jamahal Hill in the third round at the UFC 311. After a loss to Alex Pereira, and an unsuccessful attempt to win the light heavyweight title, Jiri is finally back with an bang. His career was on a slippery slope after his poor performance at UFC 303, while he was at the top of the world when he claimed the title at UFC 275 after a win against Glover Teixeira. After vacating the belt due to an injury, Jiri was not able to get it back as in the meantime both Pereira and Ankalaev rose through ranks.
Rountree Jr. who came to UFC undefeated quickly gathered six defeats that led him to having an 14-6 MMA record with 10 of those wins coming in UFC. He also lost to Alex Pereira not so long ago, and sees the bout against Jiri as his chance to get back into title conversation. Just like the Czech fighter he is coming to UFC 320 on the back of a recent win, in his case against Hill too. Unlike Jiri, who won via stoppage, Khalil won via unanimous decision. Not so long ago, Rountree Jr. Was on a five win streak that put him on the brink of winning the title. The man who stopped his ascension to the throne was Pereira, who is going through his trouble at the moment. At UFC 307 Pereira was the better of the two fighters and won the match in the fourth round via TKO.
At the moment it would appear that both Rountree Jr. and Prochazka would like to get a shot at the title against Pereira. Whether that’s going to be the case will be clear after the events of UFC 320. As far as Rountree Jr. vs. Prochazka goes, the Czech fighter is the favourite to win. The odds on his win are set at 1.54 making him a clear cut favorite to take this one home. Rountree Jr. is a slight underdog and his odds are set at 2.50. While the odds shape the opinion of the audience, we wouldn’t be too sure that this is going to be one sided as the odds point it out to be.
The fights we presented to you are the cream of the crop of what UFC has to offer at the moment. These three fights will keep the fans tied to their seats throughout the evening at Las Vegas and across the world to their TVs, smartphones, tablets, and computers, wherever and however they stream the event. Other notable fights during the UFC 320 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, include the bouts between Abusupiyan Magomedov vs. Joe Pyfer, Ateba Abega Gautier vs. Osman Diaz, Edmen Shahbazyan vs. André Muniz, Veronica Hardy vs. Brogan Walker, Chris Gutiérrez vs. Farid Basharat, and Macy Chiasson vs. Yana Santos among few others. Gear up, and enjoy the show.
