Alex Pereira and Magomed Ankalaev don’t speak each other’s languages but there were no words needed when the UFC 313 main event fighters faced off on Thursday following the pre-fight press conference.
The two hulking 205-pounders engaged in a tense staredown after answering questions on stage ahead of their showdown on Saturday.
While the tension between Pereira and Ankalaev had mostly been based around the upcoming competition, the fighters ratcheted up a little bit of bad blood in the days leading up to UFC 313.
For Ankalaev, he brought up Pereira’s recent travel schedule where he’s been jet-setting halfway around the world to corner Sean Strickland for a fight in Australia just weeks before his own title defense and also making note about the Brazilian’s enjoyment for his night life.
In response, Pereira mentioned Ankalaev fighting during Ramadan, which required him to break the traditional fast he observes as a Muslim so he could drink water while preparing for his weight cut on Friday.
All the talking ends on Saturday when Pereira looks for the fourth consecutive defense of his light heavyweight title while Ankalaev attempts to become UFC champion for the first time.
Song Yadong scored the biggest win of his career with a technical decision over former two-division champion Henry Cejudo at UFC Seattle, and he also went home with the biggest payday of anybody competing on the card.
The Washington State Department of Licensing released the salaries from the UFC Seattle card to MMA Fighting via a public records request. Song and bantamweight veteran Rob Font earned the highest paydays of anyone competing at the event.
For his win in the main event, Song took home $ 320,000, $ 160,000 for his show money, and another $ 160,000 for winning. He earned the victory after Cejudo was unable to continue following an eye poke that left his vision impaired. Referee Jason Herzog ultimately deemed the foul was accidental and refrained from deducting any points.
Because the fight made it to the end of the third round in a five-round contest, the scorecards were tallied with Song winning a technical decision.
As for Cejudo, he went home with $ 150,000 but missed out on the extra $ 150,000 he would have earned with a victory.
The other biggest payday at UFC Seattle was for Font, who also took home $ 320,000 for his split decision win over Jean Matsumoto on the main card, earning $ 160,000 to show and another $ 160,000 to win.
Here are the full paydays for UFC Seattle
Song Yadong: $ 320,000 — $ 160,000 to show, $ 160,000 to win
Henry Cejudo: $ 150,000
Anthony Hernandez: $ 144,000 — $ 72,000 to show, $ 72,000 to win
Brendan Allen: $ 210,000
Rob Font: $ 320,000 — $ 160,000 to show, $ 160,000 to win
Jean Matsumoto: $ 26,000
Jean Silva: $ 90,000 — $ 45,000 to show, $ 45,000 to win
Melsik Baghdasaryan: $ 35,000
Alonzo Menifield: $ 240,000 — $ 120,000 to show, $ 120,000 to win
Julius Walker: $ 12,000
Ion Cutelaba: $ 190,000 — $ 95,000 to show, $ 95,000 to win
Ibo Aslan: $ 35,000
Melquizael Costa: $ 48,000 — $ 24,000 to show, $ 24,000 to win
Andre Fili: $ 110,000
Mansur Abdul-Malik: $ 24,000 — $ 12,000 to show, $ 12,000 to win
Nick Klein: $ 10,000
Ricky Simon: $ 160,000 — $ 80,000 to show, $ 80,000 to win
Javid Basharat: $ 30,000
Austin Vanderford: $ 30,000 — $ 15,000 to show, $ 15,000 to win
Nikolay Veretennikov: $ 12,000
Nursulton Ruziboev: $ 74,000 — $ 37,000 to show, $ 37,000 to win
Eric McConico: $ 12,000
Modestas Bukauskas: $ 96,000 — $ 48,000 to show, $ 48,000 to win
Marcos Rogerio de Lima has been suspended after failing a drug test.
According to Combat Sports Anti-Doping (CSAD), the UFC’s drug-testing agency, de Lima tested positive for anastrozole, “a prohibited at all times substance” in the hormone and metabolic modulators class on the UFC’s prohibited substance list. The UFC heavyweight tested positive stemming from a Jan. 13 out-of-competition test.
This is the second time de Lima has tested positive for anastrozole, as he failed a test in 2017 where he served a reduced six-month suspension after USADA determined he used a contaminated supplement. This time, CSAD states that de Lima “submitted extensive medical documentation” in regards to a medical condition he suffered, and was prescribed something that had anastrozole listed on the label.
“De Lima neither checked on the prohibited status himself of the prescription before using it, nor contacted anyone within the UFC Anti-Doping Compliance Team for help to check the status of the prescription,” says the CSAD statement.
Additionally, CSAD says that after a thorough investigation, along with a detailed interview with de Lima — who was fully cooperative — along with contact with de Lima’s physician, CSAD confirmed the heavyweight fighter “was not seeking an athletic performance advantage and simply failed to check on the status of the medication and seek a therapeutic use exemption for his use of anastrozole.”
The anti-doping agency ultimately landed on a six-month suspension for de Lima, but since it was his second offense, the penalty was doubled to one year.
De Lima is eligible to compete again on Jan. 24, 2026
Magomed Ankalaev understands anyone suggesting that the UFC is hoping Alex Pereira defeats him on Saturday, but he won’t apologize for spoiling anybody’s plans.
Anakalev challenges Pereira for the light heavyweight title in the main event of UFC 313 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Recently, ex-UFC fighter Brendan Schaub said on his podcast that he believes the top of the UFC food chain is hoping Pereira retains his title for the fourth time, mostly to set up possible heavyweight matchups in the future against champs Jon Jones and Tom Aspinall — which Schaub feels won’t happen if Ankalaev wins this weekend.
“If you don’t think the UFC brass is praying to the MMA Gods that Alex wins this fight, good lord, buddy,” Schaub said. “If Ankalaev wins this fight, you do the rematch, but maybe he’s an Achilles’ heel. …
“They can’t create a star out of Ankalaev, you just can’t. Alex is your biggest star. This is his fourth title defense in under a year. … We’ve never seen anything like this. He’s also 37, so there’s not a lot of left juice in that towel to keep squeezing out.”
Ahead of his second championship opportunity, Ankalaev was asked about Schaub’s comments, and if the challenger feels the same way.
“Yeah, of course, I can understand that if he wins this fight that there’s a lot more opportunities that are opening up for him, and there’s a lot more doors that are going to be open for him as a person and as a fighter in general,” Ankalaev told MMA Fighting.
“But it just happened that the destiny put the two of us together and, unfortunately, he’s going to have a real tough time to get to that goal because he’s got me in front of him.”
Ankalaev competed for the title at UFC 282 in December 2022, fighting former champ Jan Blachowicz to a draw. UFC CEO Dana White publicly frowned upon the efforts in the bout, which has led to Ankalaev to have to compete three more times to earn another opportunity to fight for the belt.
Despite being unbeaten in 13 straight fights, Ankalaev watched Pereira defend his title three times in 2024, knocking out Jamahal Hill, Jiri Prochazka and Khalil Rountree during the impressive run. While he appreciates Pereira as a competitor and human being, Ankalaev feels “Poatan” has yet to fight anybody like him.
“It’s very different for him because, obviously he’s great guy, he’s a great fighter, he’s somebody who’s very strong, but he had specific fighters that he fought,” Ankalaev explained. “He fought strikers, he fought people that do not really have [much of a] ground game, and I’m a whole different animal.
“I’m going to be a whole different fighter standing in front of him on Saturday.”
Dana White has officially entered the boxing world, announcing that a deal between UFC parent company TKO Group Holdings and Turki Alalshikh is done. What does this news mean for the boxing world moving forward?
On an all-new edition of Between the Links, MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck and Jed Meshew answer your questions about White and TKO’s newest combat sports venture, discuss if it brings a different level of excitement to the sport, and other questions in play. Additionally, topics may include UFC 313, the main event championship fight between Alex Pereira and Magomed Ankalaev, the co-main event rematch between Justin Gaethje and Rafael Fiziev, how the card stacks up as a whole, White saying he expects heavyweight champ Jon Jones back this summer, and much more.
Watch the show live at 12:30 p.m. ET / 9:30 a.m. PT in the video above.
If you missed the show live, you can still watch above, or listen to the podcast version, which can be found below and on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you get your pods.
Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano are running it back again.
Most Valuable Promotions announced on Thursday that Taylor and Serrano will meet in a trilogy bout July 11 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The bout, which will be for the undisputed super lightweight championship, headlines an all-women’s boxing event that will stream on Netflix.
The Hollywood Reporter was first to report the news.
“This is more than just a fight — it’s a celebration of the unmatched talent of women in boxing,” Most Valuable Promotions co-founders Jake Paul and Nakisa Badarian said in a joint statement.“Amanda Serrano and Katie Taylor have already shattered barriers and inspired millions, and this trilogy fight at the iconic Madison Square Garden will be another historic step forward for women’s sports.
“This all-women’s card is not only a testament to how far the sport has come but also the beginning of an even greater push from MVP to elevate the next generation of female fighters. Unlike other incumbents in boxing, we have, are, and will always champion women as equals to men, treating them with supreme respect and we will never compromise on those values. Thank you to Netflix and MSG. We’re honored to bring this groundbreaking event to life and remain steadfast in our mission to build and invest in lasting opportunities for women in boxing. This event is the definition of W.”
Taylor was victorious in their first two meetings, but the decisions in her favor were very, very close. Their first battle was the first women’s bout to headline at Madison Square Garden in April 2022, and they ran it back this past November in the co-main event of the Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson card, delivering another thrilling affair, and was watched by an average of 74 million viewers on Netflix.
Additional bouts for the card will be announced at a later date.
Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira | Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC
Israel Adesanya believes Alex Pereira gets it done this weekend.
On Saturday, Pereira puts his light heavyweight title on the line when he takes on Magomed Ankalaev in the main event of UFC 313. Pereira has been perfect since moving up to 205 pounds in the UFC, winning five in a row, including the straight title defenses in 2024.
However, Pereira now arguably faces his toughest test to date in Ankalaev, a fighter many touted as a future champion of this division and some even suggested the UFC was protecting Pereira from. All that is out the window now though and Adesanya believes “Poatan” has a number of advantages heading into this matchup.
“Leg kicks. Let’s just address the f*cking elephant in the room,” Adesanya said on his YouTube channel. “That’s going to be a factor in this fight. He might have to become a wrestler in this fight. He might have to go into his bag for this one because he can’t just — I think ego is a part of it.
“Fight talk. He’s saying what he has to say to get the fight. ‘I’ll stand up with him.’ Yeah, it will start off standing but I don’t think it’s going to keep standing. He’s going to clinch. He’s definitely going to try and take him down. I think Ankalaev is going to try and take him down. Can he keep him down? Alex Pereira is a black belt in jiu-jitsu now. He’s exponentially getting better. I haven’t really seen him use it much in a fight because he hasn’t had to, but I’ve seen him roll with some people recently and it was a lot different from what I remember. It seems like he flows better on the ground.”
Of course, Adesanya knows what he’s talking about; he fought Pereira four times across kickboxing and MMA, finally defeating “Poatan” in their second MMA fight at UFC 287. And having spent so much time exchanging blows with Pereira, Adesanya believes he continues rolling through the light heavyweight division on Saturday.
“[Ankalaev] is going to shoot because he’s going to get tagged on the legs, and again, he could get clocked in the face,” Adesanya said. “If you say Magomed has good straight shots, that’s something Ale has to watch out for, and he switches a lot. Southpaw will be the best stance for Magomed. …
“Maybe I’m banking too much on the leg kicks. I have experience with it and I know how effective it is. Regardless, I’m going to go with Pereira because of momentum. He’s just on a tear right now. … When you have that kind of frame and power, you trust in your skillset so much.”
That being said, Adesanya isn’t giving Ankalaev no chance to win, he just thinks it’s going to be hard given the run of form Pereira is on right now.
“Ankalaev, speed,” Adesanya said. “But he’ll have to catch Alex when he makes a mistake. So counters. If he catches him on a counter it could be a dangerous night, but I just think this is going to go leg kicks, leg kicks, leg kicks, left hook. Alex Pereira by KO. … Four or five. He’s going to knock him out in the fourth or fifth round.”
TOP STORIES
TKO. It’s official. Dana White and Turki Alalshikh are teaming up for a massive new boxing venture.
Back? White teases a summer comeback for Jon Jones… and potentially a fight with Tom Aspinall?
Ramadan. Magomed Ankalaev reveals changes he made for fight week during Ramadan, responds to Alex Pereira’s wager.
$ $ $ . UFC owners address rumors about seeking over $ 1 billion per year in new broadcast rights deal.
Rundown. Upcoming UFC featherweight title challenger Diego Lopes shares his thoughts on Movsar Evloev, Patricio Pitbull, and Aljamain Sterling.
Prediction. Jamahal Hill tells fans to expect to hear “And New” at UFC 313.
KC. The updated lineup for UFC Kansas City has been announced.
VIDEO STEW
UFC 313 media day.
MMA Fighting’s Damon Martin talks to Curtis Blaydes ahead of his fight at UFC 313.
UFC 313 Embedded, episode 3.
Alex Pereira fight week.
FLAVOR IN YOUR EAR
No Bets Barred. MMA Fighting’s Jed Meshew gives his best bets for what is expected to be a hotly contested UFC 313 main event, plus more picks for Saturday’s pay-per-view.
SOCIAL MEDIA BOUILLABAISSE
This goes as well as you would expect.
Think you can do better? ️
Some of our #UFC313 main card athletes were put to the test ahead of Saturday’s big fights! pic.twitter.com/7up3uvpHC1
— UFC (@ufc) March 5, 2025
Only Tony.
“May 11, Team LA” Champ Shit Only™️ ♂️ @mmagfl pic.twitter.com/JZvJLDTLux
— Tony Ferguson (@TonyFergusonXT) March 5, 2025
If you’re a fighter or know a fighter involved, please tell them to do this!
Fighters –
You have 105 days to submit your Claim Form.
If you pre-registered to receive this YOU STILL MUST SUBMIT YOUR CLAIM FORM TO GET YOUR $ $ $
MMA twitter help spread the word! https://t.co/RPVKj7CVuq
— Erik Magraken (@erikmagraken) March 4, 2025
Fight camp for Kelvin Gastelum.
Day 1 of camp in CDMX #OAM4G pic.twitter.com/2lo5iWwslH
— #OnAmission4Gold (@KelvinGastelum) March 5, 2025
Yoel Romero is back.
The wait is over— DBX 1 is here! After a private showcase, we’re bringing the most intense combat sport to a LIVE audience for the first time!
Yoel Romero headlines in a brutal showdown against Hylton March 22 | The Hangar at Regatta Harbour | Miami, FL Streaming LIVE… pic.twitter.com/J8RnoS19gH
— Dirty Boxing Championship (@DirtyBoxing_) March 5, 2025
FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS
Randy Brown (19-6) vs. Nicolas Dalby (23-5-1, 2 NC); UFC Kansas City, Apr. 26.
FINAL THOUGHTS
I’m increasingly excited about the main event this weekend. This is the two best light heavyweights in the world locking horns in a fascinating matchup of styles. I know people really want Pereira to skip right to Jon Jones or Tom Aspinall, but I always wanted this fight and I think it’s going to be a really fun one. Almost there.
EXIT POLL
If you find something you’d like to see in the Morning Report, hit up @AlexanderKlee or @JedKMeshew on Twitter and let us know about it. Also, follow MMAFighting on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and like us on Facebook.
The UFC is expected to sign the most lucrative broadcast rights deal in company history in 2025 but is the organization actually seeking over $ 1 billion per year as part of these negotiations?
That’s the question TKO Group Holdings president and chief operating officer Mark Shapiro addressed on Monday during an appearance at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media and Telecom conference. While there’s little doubt that the UFC is expected to exceed the parameters of the current deal at ESPN, which started back in 2018, reports surfaced that the company was seeking a huge increase by comparison when the new deal kicks in starting in 2026.
The original five year deal with ESPN was worth $ 1.5 billion with the two sides eventually tacking on two more years along with pay-per-view broadcasts added into the contract.
“All I would say on this — this isn’t so folks can get hot under the collar or get cold or take it as ‘he’s encouraged, he’s optimistic, but he’s not bullish.’ We don’t have to read between the lines here,” Shapiro said. “It’s simple. Of course, we’re going to maximize value. Of course, we think we’re undervalued — not because we did a bad deal — because seven years is a long time and the decks shuffle. But I think, name your analyst, there’s a lot out there.
“I’m not saying we’re not going to get two-times [as much], whatever it might be, that’s generally just word of mouth. That’s not coming from the company.”
That said, Shapiro recognizes the notion that the UFC could potentially be worth that much in a new broadcast rights deal probably stems from a few different factors.
First and foremost, sports rights packages are still huge business, especially with streaming giants like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video getting involved in the bidding. The NBA struck a deal that kicked off in 2025 worth $ 76 billion across 11 years — more than double the previous deal at $ 24 billion over nine years.
“I think people are just looking at various other leagues and thinking the UFC is hot and growing and diverse and young and half our audience is 18 to 34, and we’re full year round, we have no offseason, we’re taking place every single weekend and we’re growing globally,” Shapiro said. “We’re in 170 countries with huge opportunity for growth. Europe, LatAm (Latin America), APAC (Asia-Pacific region), MENA (Middle East, Northern Africa), all huge areas of opportunistic growth and they’re just thinking the sky is unlimited here. These guys can go to outer space!
“But they’re also balancing that with reading about MLB and reading about F1 and so I would just tell you there’s no early inning information. We cherish our relationship with ESPN and Disney. By the way, they have a lot to do with our success and our growth and we’re in our [exclusive negotiating] window and we’re trying to figure out a way with them to renew. We may or may not come out of the window, we’ll see what happens.”
The two deals Shapiro mentioned referenced ESPN opting out of its broadcast deal with Major League Baseball and not striking a deal to keep Formula-1 racing either (although talks are reportedly still ongoing).
Right now, the UFC is still in an exclusive negotiating window with ESPN through April 15 but after that date expires, the company can begin fielding offers from other prospective partners.
Shapiro knows there are going to be no shortage of offers trying to land the UFC’s broadcast rights but he also recognizes that the company has to take a look at long term success rather than a short term cash grab.
In other words, a streaming service or even a network could offer a ridiculous number to land the UFC’s broadcast fights but if that outlet doesn’t provide the same kind of exposure as say ESPN, it might not be worth the extra money.
“Our job is to grow the brand,” Shapiro said. “This is a nascent sport, it’s mainstream now but it’s nascent. It’s early days. It’s turned into a major but when you compare it to MLB, which has been around for 100 years, an NFL, which has been around 100 years, we have a long way to go here. So we have to gauge reach, engagement, brand strength with dollars. We’re playing the long game here. That’s how we kind of size up our negotiations and the different suitors that are out there.
“Because there are some folks, some platforms, some channels that would pay more but aren’t necessarily the best fit for our brand. At the end of the day, we have to live for the next deal. We have to grow this, grow our audience, monetize our audience, but make sure we are in the most competitive position so when this deal is up seven years from now, five years from now, 10 years from now — likely when myself or Ari [Emanuel] are long gone — we’re set up for success with the next group, the next level.”
Jamahal Hill | Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
The full fight card for UFC Kansas City is set.
On Wednesday, the UFC officially revealed the full lineup for its return to Kansas City and the T-Mobile Center on April 26.
The main event is a previously reported matchup between former light heavyweight champion Jamahal Hill and recent title challenger Khalil Rountree Jr. This is Hill’s first fight since his TKO loss to Jiri Prochazka at UFC 311 in January. Rountree also suffered a TKO loss his last time out as he was stopped by Alex Pereira in the fourth round of their title fight at UFC 307 last October.
The co-main event features the final fight of former light heavyweight title challenger Anthony Smith as he faces rising knockout artist Zhang Mingyang.
The complete UFC Kansas City fight card can be found below.
Jamahal Hill (12-3) vs. Khalil Rountree Jr. (13-6)
Anthony Smith (37-21) vs. Zhang Mingyang (18-6)
Michel Pereira (31-12) vs. Abus Magomedov (27-6-1)
Giga Chikadze (15-4) vs. David Onama (13-2)
Ikram Aliskerov (15-2) vs. Andre Muniz (24-6)
Randy Brown (19-6) vs. Nicolas Dalby (23-5-1, 2 NC)
Matt Schnell (16-9, 1 NC) vs. Jimmy Flick (17-8)
Chelsea Chandler (6-3) vs. Joselyne Edwards (14-6)
Nicky Rodriguez will try to pick up another win at UFC Fight Pass Invitational 10 on Thursday. | Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC
MMA Fighting has UFC Fight Pass Invitational 10 results and more for the Rodriguez vs. Hugo jiu-jitsu event from the UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nev., on Thursday night.
In the main event, Nicky Rodriguez will try to avenge three losses to Victor Hugo in the past. Rodriguez owns a 7-1 record at the UFC Fight Pass Invitational events.
Renato Canuto, who is 2-1 at the UFC Fight Pass Invitational, will square off against Oliver Taza in a 170-pound contest in the co-main event.
Check out the UFC Fight Pass Invitational 10 results below.
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