UFC 313: Card Preview & How To Watch
Read Time:6 Minute, 57 Second
UFC 313 is scheduled to take place on March 8th, inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The card is headlined by light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira defending his title against longtime contender Magomed Ankalev.
The main card action will start streaming live on pay-per-view at 10PM ET. Prelim action goes down on ESPN News and Disney+ at 8PM ET, and early prelims begin at 6PM ET on ESPN+.
Main Card
Alex Pereira (C) vs. Magomed Ankalaev (Light Heavyweight Championship)
The moment that all the fight fans have been waiting for is finally here. Alex Pereira (12-2-0) puts his belt on the line against Magomed Ankalaev (20-1-1, 1NC). A lot has been made of this fight, stylistically and personally, between the champion and challenger. Fans worldwide feel Ankalaev will be the first legitimate challenger to the highlight-reel kickboxer’s grappling skills.
Pereira, 37, has taken the MMA world by storm, with just ten UFC appearances from 2021 to 2024. The former middleweight champion secured the ‘MMA Fighter of the Year’ title in 2024. He now looks to continue growing his legacy in the sport with a career-defining win over Ankalaev. This will be Pereira’s fourth defense, a remarkable feat; he just gained this belt in November 2023. In his five fights at light heavyweight, he has already conquered elite opponents like Jamahal Hill, Jiri Prochazka, and Khalil Rountree Jr., and Jan Blachowicz.
Ankalaev, 32, has finally been granted the opportunity to fight Pereira. The Dagestani has accumulated a jaw-dropping record as a professional, all while facing the UFC’s best. Ankalaev is as good as it gets, he has wins over notable names like Nikita Krylov, Thiagos Santos, Johnny Walker, Aleksandr Rakic, Anthony Smith, and Volkan Oezdemir. However, it has not been the quality resume of Ankalaev that has fans so excited to see this fight made. Moreso, the naysaying and trash talk in the build-up has captivated the public’s interest. Their latest exchange occurred at the start of fight week where Alex Pereira issued a public bet to Ankalaev and his team.
Justin Gaethje vs. Rafael Fiziev 2
The co-main event for UFC 313 was thought to be in jeopardy. Dan Hooker withdrew from the fight due to a broken hand. However, the bout was salvaged quickly thanks to Rafael Fiziev’s call to action. That said, No. 3-ranked lightweight, Justin Gaethje (25-5-0), faces No. 11-ranked Rafael Fiziev (12-3-0) in a rematch scheduled for three rounds. These two initially fought each other at UFC 286, where Gaethje narrowly edged out a majority decision over Fiziev.
Gaethje, 36, is coming off a potential career-changing loss, a fifth-round knockout against Max Holloway. It happened on the main card of the historic UFC 300 card. Gaethje sustained a severely broken nose during this fight. The former interim lightweight and BMF champion is 3-2 in his last five fights. He has wins over Michael Chandler, Dustin Poirier, and Rafael Fizieiv. The constant top lightweight contender faces potential world title aspiration suicide in the Fiziev rematch.
Fiziev, 32, is looking to return to his winning ways in this extremely crucial opportunity. The crafty striker is now riding a two-fight losing streak following his fights with Mateusz Gamrot and Justin Gaethje. His last appearance back in September 2023 was against Gamrot. But, this loss deserves an asterisk as Fiziev suffered an unforeseen leg injury in the second round. The injury forced the referee to step in and call the fight. Before this two-fight skid, Fiziev had found a groove inside the cage as he was on a six-fight win streak.
Additional Main Card Bouts
- Jalin Turner (14-8-0) vs. Ignacio Bahamondes (16-5-0)
- Amanda Lemos (14-4-1) vs. Iasmin Lucindo (17-5-0)
- King Green (32-16-1, 1NC) vs. Mauricio Ruffy (11-1-0)
Preliminary Card
Curtis Blaydes vs. Rizvan Kuniev
The UFC 313 featured prelim bout is an odd one at first glance. Matchmakers must know something that most fans and pundits are unaware of as No. 5-ranked Heavyweight Curtis Blaydes (18-5-0, 1NC) takes on unranked UFC newcomer Rizvan Kuniev (13-2-1, 1NC). This matchup puzzled fight fans around the world. Most were surprised and confused because they were not familiar with Kuniev before the fight announcement. These two were initially scheduled to fight on February 22nd, but were later rescheduled.
Blaydes, 34, comes into this featured prelim as a moderate betting favorite. The perennial top heavyweight is well-tested and experienced. He has faced formidable opponents like Tom Aspinall, Sergei Pavlovich, Jailton Almeida, and Alexander Volvo. Therefore, a matchup with Kuniev will seem generous to Blaydes. The well-rounded heavyweight is 1-2 in his last three fights. His last appearance inside the cage ended in a devastating first-round TKO loss. He lost to defending interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall in July 2024.
Kuniev, 31, has appeared twice on Dana White’s Contender Series, winning both times. However, he was never signed to the official roster. Kuniev achieved a third-round stoppage victory on the contender series. He then took his talents to Khabib Nurmagomedov’s short-lived MMA promotion, Eagle FC. He fought only once for them, shortly after he signed with PFL. There, he fought the promotion’s best of the best. Facing Renan Ferreira, he put up an impressive unanimous decision win over the gigantic Brazilian. However, these results were overturned to a no-contest.
It was determined that Kuniev had tested positive for anabolic steroids drostanolone, metenelone, boldenone, and 19-norandrosterone. The PFL made the ethical decision to release Kuniev after these results. In August 2024, Kuniev returned to DWCS, scoring an impressive first-round buzzer-beater TKO over Hugo Cunha.
Joshua Van vs. Rei Tsuruya
In arguably the most slept-on fight at UFC 313, extraordinarily young and skilled flyweights No. 15-ranked Joshua Van (12-2-0) and Rei Tsuruya (10-0-0) meet in the middle for a scheduled three rounds. The contrasting stylistic approaches from both men should make for an entertaining spectacle for viewers.
Van, 23, has wasted no time ascending the flyweight division. He debuted for the UFC in July 2023 and has already racked up six fights. He went 5-1 in those fights. The Fury FC alum has recently fought the likes of Charles Johnson, Cody Durden, and Edgar Chairez. Now riding a two-fight win streak, Van hopes to climb the rankings. He aims for this with a win over the tricky undefeated grappler.
Tsuruya, 22, is still undefeated as a professional. Having successfully run through the Road to UFC gauntlet, going 3-0 with two finishes. The Japanese grappling phenom made his UFC debut against Carlos Hernandez at UFC 303. Tsuruya displayed great composure for his age in this unanimous decision win against Hernandez. He now faces arguably the toughest test of his career in the formidable puncher Van.
Additional Preliminary Bouts
- Bruno Ferreira (12-2-0) vs. Rei Tsuruya (10-0-0)
- Alex Morono (24-11-0, 1NC) vs. Carlos Leal (21-6-0)
Early Preliminary Card
Mairon Santos vs. Francis Marshall
The Ultimate Fighter winner Mairon Santos (14-1-0) takes on Francis Marshall (8-2-0) on the early prelims of UFC 313.
Santos, 24, is coming off his stupendous run on the reality television series. During his time in the competition, he went 3-0. He concluded his performance with a second-round TKO victory. This decisive win was over Kaan Ofli in the season finale back in August 2024. The talented Brazilian striker is riding a four-fight win streak coming into this matchup.
Marshall, 25, has come from a different path than Santos, hailing from DWCS. He appeared on the show in 2022, where he earned a unanimous decision win over Connor Matthews. Marshall has a 2-2 record in his four UFC fights. He recently achieved a split-decision win over Dennis Buzukja in August 2024.
Additional Early Prelim Bouts
- Chris Gutierrez (21-6-2) vs. John Castaneda (21-7-0)
- Djorden Santos (10-1-0) vs. Ozzy Diaz (9-3-0)
Bundle and save when you buy UFC 313 and a full year of ESPN+ for only $134.98.
Happy
67 %
Sad
0 %
Excited
22 %
Sleepy
0 %
Angry
0 %
Surprise
11 %
About Post Author
Average Rating