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The Brazilian fighter needed only under a minute and a half to recapture the light-heavyweight crown after overcoming his Russian opponent at the Las Vegas event.

This triumph came about half a year after he experienced a unanimous decision loss to the Russian fighter at their previous encounter.

The 38-year-old, that had clearly learned from his defeat in spring, did not hesitate by landing a powerful right hook.

The Vegas crowd erupted as the dual-weight titleholder stunned the his opponent with a heavy blow before referee Herb Dean ended the bout following a number of hard strikes to the head.

"Revenge is never a positive motive. I told everyone I wasn't in a good position in our first fight but people doubted me, this evening everyone witnessed," the champion commented after his win.

"It didn't surprise me, I observed during our initial bout. I don't like to make excuses but I wasn't 100% on that occasion."

The Russian fighter was aiming for his thirteenth victory in a row but connected with only two out of seven power shots, while 25 out of 37 from Pereira found their target.

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 - a record time.

After capturing the 185-pound championship, Pereira moved up to light-heavyweight and, following his title win, his three defences in 2024 resulted in him being recognized as the promotion's top competitor together with another champion.

Pereira encountered his toughest challenge in fighting his rival, with the Russian preventing the Brazilian from connecting with powerful shots in their first fight - but that was not a problem the in the rematch, with Pereira thudding the side of his opponent's head in the opening moments.

Ankalaev had stopped the Brazilian's run of three title defences within twelve months in the initial bout but the ex-titleholder now has a second defeat on his professional history - 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' - White

Despite reclaiming the light-heavyweight title he surrendered in March, the fighter has plans for transitioning an additional division to heavyweight, according to UFC chief Dana White.

Before the rematch with his opponent, Pereira and his camp told White of his intention to make the move to heavyweight. White stated at the post-fight news conference: "He expressed they want to compete in the heavyweight division but I said to concentrate on tonight first. Opportunities remain here, but we'll consider."

"He has been an absolute stud for us. He competes when he's hurt, it doesn't matter to him. He wants to fight everybody and advance to heavyweight. There's a lot of things to discuss after tonight."

When asked what his reservations were on Pereira making the jump, White answered: "He started as a middleweight - to jump up two weight classes in the UFC, it's not like moving up two divisions in boxing."

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

'The Machine' Merab Dvalishvili Persists to Make Mark in UFC Annals

During the featured bout, The Georgian the bantamweight champion claimed a dominant judges' decision over the American his opponent to retain his 135-pound championship.

The win was the Georgian's 14th in a row - taking him up to third for most consecutive victories in UFC history. Just two other fighters, on 15, and Anderson Silva with 16 sit higher.

The judges judged the fight 49-45 49-45 49-46 in favor of the champion.

"I am a machine. I continuously improve. My training is intense. It seems my journey is starting, I'm only getting started and I continuously develop," said the champion after the bout.

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

Despite Dvalishvili's confidence and daunting win streak, the challenger was not overawed and connected with 23 out of 48 power shots in the first round, but the tide turned during the second round when the Georgian landed heavy with a series of blows.

The American survived the onslaught but continued to be dominated, with the champion establishing a fresh organizational mark for the most takedowns in a five-round bout with 20 on the way to victory.