Pereira, a former kickboxing champion, has been a phenom since joining the UFC in 2021. He won middleweight gold in 2022 before moving up to light-heavyweight and adding a second belt in 2023. Then, last year, he recorded three successful title defences with TKOs of Jamahal Hill, Jiri Prochazka and Khalil Rountree Jr.

Pereira (12-2 MMA, 9-1 UFC) will attempt to make the fourth defense of his reign when he meets streaking contender Ankalaev (20-1-1 MMA, 11-1-1 UFC) in the main event at T-Mobile Arena (pay-per-view, ESPNews/Disney+, ESPN+ ).