REPORT | Alex Pereira vs. Magomed Ankalaev not an option for UFC 310

Alex Pereira is unlikely to make a fourth defense of his light heavyweight title in 2024.

After Belal Muhammad was forced to withdraw from UFC 310 due to a toe infection, Pereira was linked to make another quick turnaround and defend his belt against Magomed Ankalaev. However, according to Guilherme Cruz of MMAFighitng, Pereira vs. Anakalev is not an option for UFC 310 on December 7.

“The light heavyweight champion appeared to tease another quick turnaround after posting a phone emoji on social media in reaction to the Muhammad news, but MMA Fighting has learned that the fight is not being discussed for the card,” Cruz wrote.

With Alex Pereira vs. Magomed Ankalaev likely not happening at UFC 310, it’s uncertain what fight will headline the year-end pay-per-view. Right now, Alexandre Pantoja vs. Kai Asakura for the flyweight title remains the top fight on the card.

Although Pereira vs. Ankalaev won’t happen at UFC 310, that fight is next. Ankalaev cemented his status as the No. 1 contender at light heavyweight with his decision win over Aleksandar Rakic at UFC 308.

Alex Pereira (12-2) is coming off a fourth-round TKO win over Khalil Rountree in October. Before that, he scored a TKO win over Jiri Prochazka in June and a KO win over Jamahal Hill in April. Pereira won the vacant title last November with a TKO win over Prochazka.

Magomed Ankalaev (19-1-1, 1 NC) is coming off a decision win over Aleksandar Rakic. He’s on a 13-fight unbeaten streak but during that stretch, he has a draw to Jan Blachowicz for the vacant belt and a No Contest against Johnny Walker. He has notable wins over Volkan Oezdemir, Anthony Smith, Walker, and Nikita Krylov among others.

UFC 310 fight card

With Pereira vs. Ankalaev not headlining UFC 310, the fight card is as follows:

• Alexandre Pantoja vs. Kai Asakura – for flyweight title
• Ciryl Gane vs. Alexander Volkov
• Movsar Evloev vs. Aljamain Sterling
• Dominick Reyes vs. Anthony Smith
• Virna Jandiroba vs. TBA
• Clay Guida vs. Chase Hooper
• Michael Chiesa vs. Max Griffin
• Nick Diaz vs. Vicente Luque
• Cody Durden vs. Joshua Van
• Martin Buday vs. Rizvan Kuniev
• Bryan Battle vs. Randy Brown
• Lukasz Brzeski vs. Tallison Teixeira