Despite all his posturing, Alex Pereira will in fact next defend his title against Magomed Ankalaev, and it’s official for UFC 313.

Alex Pereira will make the fourth defense of his light heavyweight title against top contender Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 313 in March.

Ankalaev (19-1-1, 1 NC) is ranked No. 1 in the UFC's official light heavyweight rankings. He's undefeated in his last 13 UFC fights and most recently defeated Aleksandar Rakic. Ankalaev previously fought Jan Blachowicz for the vacant light heavyweight title in 2022, which ended in a split draw.

Alex Pereira vs. Magomed Ankalaev is finally official. In a matchup long in the making, Pereira defends his UFC light heavyweight title against Ankalaev in the main event of UFC 313 on March 8 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, UFC announced Saturday.

The main event matchup was officially announced during Saturday’s UFC 311 broadcast. Also official is the co-main event, which features lightweight fan favorites Justin Gaethje throwing down with Dan Hooker.

It took place while UFC 311, the company's first pay-per-view event of the year, was held at the new Intuit Dome venue in Inglewood, California, on Saturday the 18th of January. It is unclear if the UFC was set to announce the fights during the broadcast, or if it was going to be held back for a later time.

The light heavyweight champ will defend his belt against No. 1-ranked contender Magomed Ankalaev to headline UFC 313 in Las Vegas, the promotion announced on Saturday.

Starting with the challenger, Ankalaev is getting his second crack at the light heavyweight title. His first shot came in December 2022 when he fought Jan Blachowicz to a draw. Ankalaev hasn’t lost since 2018 when he was submitted in the final seconds against Paul Craig.