If Alex Pereira loses tonight (Sat. Oct. 4, 2025) against Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 320, it won’t be because he was lacking in size.
Pereira weighed in at 204.5 for his light heavyweight title rematch against Ankalaev, the same as the current champion. But when he steps into the cage at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, he’ll be at least 232.4 pounds.
“Poatan” shared a video on his Instagram Stories in the early hours of Friday night showing his wild weight gain since cutting down to championship weight.
Wearing nothing but ankle socks and fight shorts, the former middleweight and light heavyweight champion weighed in 28 pounds heavier than he did on the scales Friday morning.
Add in a country breakfast and Pereira could be a solid 30+ pounds heavier than his official weigh-in when the bell rings to start his fight tonight.
We have no similar insight into how much weight Magomed Ankalaev has put back on, as the Dagestani champion seems to leave most of his social media posting up to his manager Ali Abdelaziz. That’s largely limited to trash talk sent over X (formerly Twitter), which led to a confrontation between Pereira and Ankalaev at the UFC Performance Institute over fight week.
Pereira returns after a seven month break hoping to have a better result than in his first fight against Ankalaev, which ended in a 49–46, 48–47, 48–47 unanimous decision for “Big Ank.” Ankalaev used a grinding clinch game and sharp striking on separations to smother Pereira’s offense and take the win. Will he be able to do the same on Saturday night?
The betting lines have Pereira a solid underdog at around +200 with Ankalaev the -250 favorite. Tune in to MMAMania.com tonight for full UFC 320 coverage, including play-by-play and highlights of the Pereira vs. Ankalaev fight.
