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The Brazilian fighter needed only 82 seconds to reclaim the light-heavyweight title after stopping his Russian opponent at UFC 320.

The win came half a year after he suffered a decision defeat to the Russian fighter at their previous encounter.

Pereira, that had evidently learned from his defeat in March, acted immediately by connecting with a huge right hand.

The Vegas crowd exploded as the two-division champion shook the his opponent with a heavy blow before referee Herb Dean ended the bout following several hard strikes to the head.

"Retribution is never a positive motive. I mentioned I wasn't in a good position in our first fight but nobody listened, now it was evident," 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 on that occasion."

Ankalaev was looking for his 13th win consecutively but managed just two out of seven scoring blows, while 25 of Pereira's 37 found their target.

After entering the UFC in 2021, Pereira has rapidly evolved into a top draw, achieving a two-division champion in only seven fights - a historic achievement.

Upon winning the middleweight title, Pereira moved up to light-heavyweight and, following his title win, his three defences in 2024 led to him being named the UFC fighter of the year together with another champion.

The champion faced his biggest test in facing Ankalaev, with the Russian preventing the Brazilian from landing his huge strikes in their initial encounter - but that was not a problem the in the rematch, with Pereira thudding the side of his adversary's head early on.

The challenger had stopped the Brazilian's run of three successful defenses within twelve months in the initial bout but the former champion now has a another loss on his professional history - and his first in over seven years.

Currently tied at one victory each, a rubber match could determine who claims the ultimate superiority for good.

Pereira 'Aims to Compete at Heavyweight' - UFC President

Although he recaptured the 205-pound championship he lost in March, the fighter has plans for moving up another weight class to the heavyweight class, as stated by UFC chief the organization's head.

Prior to the second fight with his opponent, Pereira and his camp told the president of his intention to transition to the heavyweight division. White told the post-fight news conference: "He expressed he wants to fight at heavyweight but I said to concentrate on this fight initially. Opportunities remain here, but we'll see."

"He has been an outstanding performer for us. He competes when not at 100%, he doesn't care. He wants to fight all challengers and advance to the heavyweight class. There's a lot of things to talk about following this event."

When asked what his concerns were on Pereira transitioning divisions, the president responded: "He was a 185-pound fighter - to jump up two weight classes in the organization, it differs from moving up two divisions in the sweet science."

"I'm not concerned but he competes in a weight class where there are still multiple matchups."

'The Machine' Dvalishvili Persists to Make Mark in History Books

During the featured bout, Georgia's the bantamweight champion earned a dominant judges' decision over the USA's his opponent to defend his 135-pound championship.

This victory was the Georgian's 14th consecutive win - taking him up to third place for most consecutive victories in organization history. Just Islam Makhachev and Kamaru Usman, on fifteen, and Anderson Silva with sixteen sit higher.

The judges scored the bout with wide margins in support of the titleholder.

"I am a machine. I continuously improve. My training is intense. I feel like my journey is starting, I'm only getting started and I keep learning," said the champion post-fight.

Dvalishvili, 34, was in control of the bout on the front foot and constantly had Sandhagen on the defence.

Although the champion's self-assurance and daunting win streak, Sandhagen was not intimidated and connected with 23 of his 48 significant strikes in the opening round, but the momentum shifted two minutes into the second stanza when the champion connected powerfully with a flurry of strikes.

Sandhagen endured the attack but remained under pressure, with the Georgian setting a new UFC record for the most takedowns in a five-round bout with 20 on the way to victory.