On the night of March 9 in Las Vegas, an historic event took place – the Dagestani Magomed Ankalaev won the UFC champion title by defeating Brazilian Alex Pereira via unanimous decision. This triumph was special not only because it brought Russia its fifth champion of the largest mixed martial arts organization, but also because Ankalaev became the first Russian to take the belt from a reigning champion.

Magomed began his UFC journey in 2016. Over nearly seven years, he fought in 14 matches, demonstrating consistently high-level performances. However, the path to the title fight was not easy – especially painful was the draw with Jan Blachowicz in December 2022, which delayed his progress towards the championship belt.

The fight against Pereira took place under difficult conditions – during the sacred month of Ramadan for Muslims. Despite this, Ankalaev was able to showcase his best fight, enduring the entire five-round distance and convincingly winning on all three judges’ scorecards.

Currently, among UFC champions, those from the Caucasus region predominate. In addition to the Russians who currently hold or have held this title, those of mountain character include Khabib Nurmagomedov, Islam Makhachev, and Magomed Ankalaev. Besides them, fighters from the Caucasus region who have been UFC champions are Georgian Merab Dvalishvili and Ilia Topuria.

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