Ankalaev (19-1-1, 1 NC) is ranked No. 1 in the UFC's official light heavyweight rankings. He's undefeated in his last 13 UFC fights and most recently defeated Aleksandar Rakic. Ankalaev previously fought Jan Blachowicz for the vacant light heavyweight title in 2022, which ended in a split draw.

Alex Pereira will make the fourth defense of his light heavyweight title against top contender Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 313 in March.

Starting with the challenger, Ankalaev is getting his second crack at the light heavyweight title. His first shot came in December 2022 when he fought Jan Blachowicz to a draw. Ankalaev hasn’t lost since 2018 when he was submitted in the final seconds against Paul Craig.

In the final preliminary bout at Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif., Barcelos (19-5 MMA, 8-4 UFC) refused to allow the previously undefeated Talbott (9-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) to get comfortable. After 15 minutes, Barcelos earned unanimous scores (30-27, 30-27, 30-26) to hand Talbott the first loss of his professional career.

Longtime UFC veteran Raoni Barcelos and undefeated bantamweight contender Payton Talbott closed out the UFC 311 prelims with an action-packed fight that ended in a huge upset.