Nov 11, 2023; New York, NY, USA; Tom Aspinall (blue gloves) prepares to fight Sergei Pavlovich (red gloves) during UFC 295 at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports

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UFC 313: Tom Aspinall Weighs In On Alex Pereira vs. Magomed Ankalaev Fight, Picks The Winner!

Tom Aspinall shares his thoughts on the upcoming Alex Pereira vs. Magomed Ankalaev fight and reveals his predicted winner!

Nov 11, 2023; New York, NY, USA; Tom Aspinall (blue gloves) prepares to fight Sergei Pavlovich (red gloves) during UFC 295 at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports

When Tom Aspinall talks about fighting, fight fans listen. The interim UFC heavyweight champion knows a thing or two about mixing striking with wrestling, having finished most of his opponents with a beautiful blend of both. Now he’s sharing his thoughts on the upcoming light heavyweight title fight between Alex Pereira and Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 313 in March.

The Brit’s analysis makes a lot of sense. Coming from a guy who knocked out Sergei Pavlovich in over a minute, his fight predictions carry some serious weight. He believes that this fight holds the key to the future of the light heavyweight division, and maybe the heavyweight division as well.

Also Read: Alex Pereira Wants To Share His Fighter Of The Year Award With This Champion!

Tom Aspinall Gives His Prediction For Alex Pereira vs. Magomed Ankalaev

The British interim champion sees an interesting chess match brewing between Pereira and Ankalaev. According to Aspinall, Ankalaev needs to play it smart and make Alex Pereira worry about takedowns. He pointed out that just striking (which Ankalaev and his manager have said they would do, repeatedly) with the Brazilian is like playing Russian roulette, basically not the best survival strategy.

The Dagestani fighter needs to keep Pereira guessing, using the threat of takedowns to open up striking opportunities. It’s similar to how Khabib Nurmagomedov used to make his opponents fear the ground game so much that they would walk right into his punches.

“This fight is the one that I’m looking forward to… This is potentially, stylistically, a bad matchup for Alex Pereira. But Ankalaev has gone out these saying he is going to strike with him. Fair enough, strike with him. That would be great. But don’t forget to make him think about the takedowns as well. That is where the success is going to come,” said Aspinall via his YouTube channel.

The stakes in this fight are particularly high because of what could come next. Aspinall knows that if Pereira wins, he might come knocking on the heavyweight division’s door. The same guy who started as a middleweight will now be trying to become the first three-division champion in UFC history.

Tom Aspinall thinks the whole fight hinges on the first few minutes. If Ankalaev doesn’t establish his wrestling threat early, he might end up joining Pereira’s highlight reel of spectacular knockouts. Remember Jiri Prochazka and Jamahal Hill? Both these fighters had arguably better ground game than Alex. But striking with ‘Poatan’ has never been an advisable thing to do if you want to reduce the chance of getting CTE! On the flip side, if Magomed Ankalaev can mix things up well, he could give Pereira his toughest test yet.

Looking at the bigger picture, this fight could reshape multiple divisions. If Alex Pereira wins and moves up to heavyweight, it creates a domino effect of opportunities for other fighters. Plus, with Jon Jones still holding the undisputed heavyweight title, fans could potentially see some incredible matchups down the line!

(Image Credit: Wendell Cruz – Imagn Images)

Alex Pereira

Magomed Ankalaev

Tom Aspinall

Zaid Quraishi

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I am a dedicated MMA and Boxing content writer at The Playoffs. I was instantly hooked on MMA after watching the fight between Lyoto Machida vs. Gegard Mousasi back in 2014, and since then, i have been an avid writer with a deep love for the sport and its techniques, providing readers with a thorough understanding of the sport. My favorite aspect of working at The Playoffs is the creative freedom it provides. The diverse range of topics, from listicles and SEO to news articles, keeps me engaged and motivates me to continuously improve my skills! I aim to capture the excitement of the combat sports world in my writing, acting as the middleman between fighters and their die-hard fans. It is kind of like a referee, but with words!