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The Brazilian fighter required just 82 seconds to recapture the light heavyweight title after stopping his Russian opponent at the Las Vegas event.

The victory came seven months after he experienced a unanimous points loss to the Russian fighter at their previous encounter.

The 38-year-old, who had evidently taken lessons from his loss in spring, acted immediately by landing a powerful right hook.

The audience in Las Vegas cheered loudly as the two-division champion stunned the 33-year-old with a powerful strike before the official called a halt following several powerful shots to the head.

"Revenge is never a positive motive. I told everyone I wasn't in a good position last time but people doubted me, tonight you saw it," the champion commented after his win.

"It didn't surprise me, I noticed during our initial bout. I'm not one for excuses but I wasn't 100% that night."

Ankalaev was looking for his 13th win in a row but could only land two out of seven power shots, while 25 of Pereira's 37 connected successfully.

After entering the UFC in 2021, Pereira has quickly transformed into one of the promotion's biggest stars, achieving a two-division champion in just seven bouts - an unprecedented pace.

Upon winning the middleweight title, he transitioned to light heavyweight and, after claiming gold, his three successful defenses in 2024 led to him being named the UFC fighter of the year alongside Ilia Topuria.

Pereira faced his biggest test in facing his rival, with the opponent preventing the Brazilian from connecting with powerful shots in their first fight - but this wasn't an issue the second time around, with Pereira connecting powerfully of his opponent's head in the opening moments.

The challenger had stopped the champion's run of three title defences within twelve months in the first encounter but the ex-titleholder now has a another loss on his record - and first since March 2018.

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

The Champion 'Wants to Fight at Heavyweight Division' - White

Although he recaptured the 205-pound championship he surrendered in spring, Pereira has plans for transitioning another weight class to heavyweight, as stated by UFC chief the organization's head.

Prior to the second fight with Ankalaev, Pereira and his team informed the president of his wishes to transition to the heavyweight division. The UFC president told the post-fight news conference: "He expressed they want to fight at heavyweight but I advised to focus on this fight first. There are still fights here, but we'll see."

"This guy has been an exceptional athlete for us. He competes when injured, it doesn't matter to him. He seeks to face all challengers and advance to heavyweight. Many considerations to discuss after tonight."

Upon questioning what his concerns were on Pereira transitioning divisions, White answered: "He was a 185-pound fighter - to jump up two weight classes in the UFC, it's not like jumping up two weight classes in boxing."

"I'm not concerned but he's in a division where there are still multiple matchups."

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

In the co-main event, The Georgian Merab Dvalishvili claimed a commanding judges' decision over the USA's his opponent to defend his bantamweight world title.

This victory was the champion's 14th in a row - taking him up to third place for most consecutive victories in organization history. Only two other fighters, on fifteen, and Anderson Silva with 16 sit higher.

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

"I am a machine. I keep getting better. My training is intense. I feel like I'm just beginning, I'm only getting started and I continuously develop," said the champion post-fight.

Dvalishvili, 34, spent the entirety of the bout on the front foot and consistently kept his opponent on the defence.

Despite the champion's self-assurance and daunting win streak, the challenger was not intimidated and landed 23 out of 48 power shots in the first round, but the tide turned two minutes into the second round when the Georgian landed heavy with a series of blows.

Sandhagen survived the onslaught but remained under pressure, with the Georgian establishing a fresh organizational mark for the most takedowns in a five-round fight with twenty on the path to winning.