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.

Light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira (12-2) returns to action at UFC 313 on March 8 to face Magomed Ankalaev (19-1) at Las Vegas' T-Mobile Arena. As confirmed on the UFC 311 broadcast, Brazil's Pereira looks to make the fourth defense of his 205-pound title against an opponent who hasn't tasted defeat since 2018.

Kevin Holland, who faces Reinier de Ridder at #UFC311, is 8-2-1 against UFC-level southpaws (W: Neal, Phillips, *GM3, Buckley, Ontiveros, Means, Chiesa, Oleksiejczuk; L: Vettori, Brunson; NC: Dukakis)

On the main card of UFC 311, we saw a big time matchup in the heavyweight division. One of the most dominant forces in the heavyweight division in Jailton Almeida (21-3) will look for his second straight win when he takes on seventh ranked Serghei Spivac (17-4).

Jailton Almeida showed off some striking before taking Serghei Spivac to the canvas and hammering him with punches for a first round finish at UFC 311