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The Brazilian fighter needed only 82 seconds to recapture the light-heavyweight world championship after overcoming Magomed Ankalaev at the Las Vegas event.

The victory came about seven months after he experienced a decision defeat to the Dagestani fighter at their previous encounter.

The 38-year-old, who had clearly taken lessons from his defeat in spring, did not hesitate by landing a powerful right hand.

The Vegas crowd exploded as the two-division champion stunned the his opponent with a powerful strike before the official stopped the fight following several hard strikes to the head.

"Retribution isn't a positive motive. I mentioned I was compromised last time but no-one believed it, now you saw it," Pereira commented following his victory.

"I expected it, I observed during our initial bout. I avoid excuses but I was unwell on that occasion."

The Russian fighter was aiming for his 13th win consecutively but connected with only two out of seven scoring blows, while 25 of Pereira's 37 landed effectively.

After entering the UFC in 2021, the Brazilian has quickly transformed into a major attraction, achieving a dual-weight titleholder in only seven fights - an unprecedented pace.

Upon winning the middleweight title, he transitioned to light-heavyweight and, after claiming gold, his three successful defenses in 2024 resulted in him being recognized as the UFC fighter of the year together with another champion.

The champion faced his biggest test in fighting Ankalaev, with the Russian blocking the Brazilian from landing his huge strikes in their initial encounter - but this wasn't an issue the in the rematch, with he connecting powerfully of his opponent's head early on.

The challenger had ended the champion's streak of three successful defenses inside a year in the initial bout but the former champion now has a second defeat on his professional history - and his first in over seven years.

Now locked at one victory each, a rubber match could decide who takes the ultimate superiority for good.

Pereira 'Wants to Fight at Heavyweight Division' - White

Despite reclaiming the light-heavyweight title he lost in March, the fighter has eyes on transitioning an additional division to heavyweight, according to promotion president the organization's head.

Before the rematch with his opponent, Pereira and his camp informed White of his wishes to transition to heavyweight. The UFC president stated at the post-fight news conference: "He expressed they want to compete in the heavyweight division but I advised to focus on tonight first. Opportunities remain here, but we'll see."

"This guy has been an exceptional athlete for us. He competes when not at 100%, it doesn't matter to him. He seeks to face everybody and move up to the heavyweight class. There's a lot of things to discuss following this event."

Upon questioning what his concerns were on the fighter making the jump, the president answered: "He started as a middleweight - to jump up two weight classes in the organization, it's not like moving up two divisions in boxing."

"I don't have reservations but he competes in a weight class where there remain so many fights."

'Machine' Dvalishvili Persists to Write Name in UFC Annals

In the co-main event, Georgia's the bantamweight champion claimed a dominant judges' decision over the American his opponent to retain his bantamweight world title.

The win was the champion's 14th in a row - taking him up to third for most consecutive victories in UFC history. Just two other fighters, on fifteen, and Anderson Silva with sixteen rank above.

The officials scored the bout with wide margins in favor of the titleholder.

"I am a machine. I continuously improve. I train hard. I feel like my journey is starting, I'm only getting started and I continuously develop," stated the champion after the bout.

The Georgian, 34, spent the entirety of the fight on the front foot and constantly had Sandhagen on the defence.

Despite Dvalishvili's confidence and daunting win streak, the challenger was not overawed and connected with 23 out of 48 significant strikes in the first round, but the momentum shifted two minutes into the second stanza when the Georgian connected powerfully with a combination.

The American survived the onslaught but continued to be dominated, with the Georgian establishing a new UFC record for the highest number of takedowns in a five-round fight with twenty on the way to victory.