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The Brazilian fighter required just under a minute and a half to regain the light-heavyweight title after stopping his Russian opponent at UFC 320.

This triumph came half a year after he suffered a unanimous points loss to the Russian competitor at their previous encounter.

Pereira, who had evidently taken lessons from his setback in spring, wasted no time by landing a powerful right hand.

The audience in Las Vegas erupted as the two-division champion stunned the his opponent with a clubbing right hand before referee Herb Dean stopped the fight following a number of powerful shots to the head.

"Revenge is never a good thing. I mentioned I wasn't in a good position last time but no-one believed it, this evening you saw it," Pereira commented post-fight.

"It didn't surprise me, I noticed during our initial bout. I don't like to make excuses but I wasn't well that night."

Ankalaev was looking for his 13th win consecutively but managed just two of his seven power shots, while 25 out of 37 from Pereira connected successfully.

Since his UFC debut in 2021, the Brazilian has rapidly evolved into one of the promotion's biggest stars, becoming a two-division champion in only seven fights - a historic achievement.

Upon winning the 185-pound championship, he moved up to light heavyweight and, after claiming gold, his three defences in 2024 led to him being recognized as the promotion's top competitor alongside another champion.

Pereira faced his biggest test in facing Ankalaev, with the opponent blocking the fighter from connecting with powerful shots in their initial encounter - but that was not a problem the in the rematch, with he connecting powerfully of his adversary's head early on.

Ankalaev had stopped the champion's run of three title defences within twelve months in the first encounter but the former champion now has a another loss on his professional history - and his first in over seven years.

Now locked at one win apiece, a third encounter could determine who claims the bragging rights permanently.

The Champion 'Aims to Compete at Heavyweight' - White

Despite reclaiming the light-heavyweight title he surrendered in March, Pereira has eyes on transitioning another weight class to heavyweight, as stated by promotion president Dana White.

Prior to the second fight with his opponent, Pereira and his team informed White of his desire to make the move to the heavyweight division. White told the post-event press conference: "He expressed he wants to fight at heavyweight but I advised to focus on this fight first. There are still fights here, but we'll see."

"He has been an outstanding performer for us. He competes when injured, it doesn't matter to him. He wants to fight all challengers and move up to the heavyweight class. There's a lot of things to talk about following this event."

Upon questioning what his concerns were on Pereira making the jump, the president responded: "He started as a 185-pound fighter - to jump up two weight classes in the UFC, it differs from moving up two divisions in boxing."

"I don't have reservations but he's in a division where there remain numerous opportunities."

'The Machine' Dvalishvili Persists to Write Name in UFC Annals

In the co-main event, Georgia's Merab Dvalishvili earned a dominant unanimous decision over the USA's his opponent to defend his bantamweight world title.

The win was the Georgian's 14th consecutive win - elevating him to third place for most consecutive victories in organization history. Just Islam Makhachev and Kamaru Usman, on 15, and another legend with sixteen sit higher.

The officials judged the fight 49-45 49-45 49-46 in favor of the titleholder.

"I am a machine. I continuously improve. My training is intense. I feel like my journey is starting, I'm just starting and I continuously develop," stated Dvalishvili after the bout.

The Georgian, 34, spent the entirety of the fight on the offensive and consistently kept his opponent on the defensive.

Despite Dvalishvili's confidence and impressive victory run, Sandhagen was not intimidated and connected with 23 out of 48 significant strikes in the opening round, but the momentum shifted during the second round when the Georgian landed heavy with a series of blows.

Sandhagen survived the onslaught but continued to be dominated, with the Georgian setting a new UFC record for the highest number of takedowns in a five-round fight with twenty on the path to winning.