UFC 320: Ankalaev vs Pereira rematch headlines championship double-header at T-Mobile Arena on October 4

The UFC will return to its Las Vegas home for UFC 320 on Saturday, October 4, with a championship double-header at the top of the fight card.

Headlining the event at T-Mobile Arena is a rematch for the light heavyweight title, as reigning champion Magomed Ankalaev faces the man he defeated to win the belt, former two-division champion Alex Pereira.

Ankalaev hasn’t lost in the Octagon since his dramatic last-second submission defeat to Paul Craig on his UFC debut, and while his road to the top of the light heavyweight division hasn’t been the smoothest at times, the Russian has remained determined throughout, and finally earned his first UFC title when he defeated Pereira via unanimous decision at UFC 313 in March.

Pereira, meanwhile, is looking to bounce back to become a two-time light heavyweight champion. The Brazilian captured titles in two weight classes in kickboxing, before joining the UFC and repeating the feat on the biggest stage in mixed martial arts.

“Poatan” has a string of high-profile victories to his name, and plans to add Ankalaev’s name to that list on October 4 as he bids to recapture the 205-pound crown.

Also set for championship action in Las Vegas is Georgia’s Merab Dvalishvili. The reigning bantamweight champion is one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the world, and one of the most impressive champions on the UFC roster today.

“The Machine” is riding a 13-fight win streak that includes two wins over former champ Sean O’Malley, plus victories over other former UFC champions Henry Cejudo, Petr Yan and Jose Aldo.

Now Dvalishvili gets set to face the challenge of Cory Sandhagen, who has been within touching distance of a title shot for the past 18 months. His recent victory over former flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo ensured that he was left at the top of the contenders’ list at 135 pounds, and “The Sand Man” will finally get his shot at championship gold on October 4.

Also on the fight card, former 205-pound champion Jiri Prochazka and former title challenger Khalil Rountree will face off in what looks on paper to be a title eliminator for the right to face the winner of the main event, while Cameroonian middleweight wrecking machine Ateba Gautier makes a quick turnaround from his devastating 70-second knockout win at UFC 318 to fight at UFC 320, where he’ll take on Ozzy Diaz.

At middleweight, hard-hitting Joe Pyfer will face off against ranked opposition when he takes on No. 14-ranked Abus Magomedov, while Edmen Shahbazyan and Andre Muniz do battle.

Veronica Hardy returns to action as she takes on Brogan Walker at 125 pounds, while at bantamweight Macy Chiasson faces Yana Santos in a battle of top-10 contenders at 135 pounds. In the men’s bantamweight division, Chris Gutierrez takes on Farid Basharat.