The highly anticipated fight between Alex Pereira and Magomed Ankalaev is scheduled for Saturday night in Las Vegas. They will compete for the light heavyweight championship at UFC 313 in T-Mobile Arena. A top UFC fighter believes there’s only one way for Ankalaev to win.
Caio Borralho, a successful middleweight fighter, trained with Pereira in Brazil. Borralho was impressed by Pereira’s grappling skills.
“We trained grappling, and he has really improved in that area,” Borralho told MMA Fighting. “It surprised me a lot. He understands grappling, knows the risks, and defends well. He is strong and big, making training with him tough in any aspect – jiu-jitsu, wrestling, or clinch work. He is very competitive and knows how to train and teach. It was a great experience for my team and for him too.”
Borralho mentioned learning striking techniques from Pereira, a former GLORY kickboxing champion. Pereira trained with Borralho’s coach, Pablo Sucupira. Pereira then went back to prepare for UFC 313. Borralho, who will be at the arena to support his teammate Mauricio Ruffy, expects a challenging fight.
“It will be a difficult fight for both fighters,” Borralho said. “Pereira has knockout power against anyone in the world. I believe Ankalaev’s only chance to win is by controlling Pereira for five rounds. Submitting Pereira will also be very difficult.”
Some believe Ankalaev is a bad matchup for Pereira, who has five light heavyweight wins, four by knockout. Pereira has only gone to decision once in this division, a split decision win over Jan Blachowicz in 2023 where he was taken down three times.
“Pereira will expect takedowns,” Borralho said. “He is smart and will look for openings, maybe even concede position to bait Ankalaev into submission attempts, creating space to get back to his feet. He has great timing. I noticed his excellent defense when training with him.”
“I think Ankalaev can take him down, but it will be harder than people think. I believe it will be a tough fight for both, but Ankalaev’s only path to victory is to control him for five rounds. Otherwise, Alex will win.”
