UFC 313 Mailbag: Magomed Ankalaev unseats Alex Pereira, but what does that mean for Jon Jones?

UFC 313 is in the books, and for the first time this year, we have a new champion. Magomed Ankalaev finally captured UFC gold, winning a unanimous decision over Alex Pereira in their long-awaited matchup.

The win sent ripples not just through the light heavyweight division but also up to heavyweight. So where do we go from here, and what about the lightweight performances from Saturday? Let’s jump into your questions this week.

Jon Jones

Jon has nowhere to go now. No one thinks he'll take the Tom fight but do you think Jon will drag it out so that Tom won't be fighting someone until November, further wasting his prime?
— Michael Bass (@michaelanthonybass.bsky.social) 2025-03-09T14:05:26.749Z

“Jon Jones has nowhere to go now. No one thinks he’ll take the Tom Aspinall fight but do you think Jon will drag it out so that Tom won’t be fighting someone until November, further wasting his prime?”

My favorite part of Saturday was everyone quickly realizing that the biggest loser of the night may have been Jon Jones. Had Pereira won, it was even money that the UFC booked Alex vs. Jon in a super fight later this year. Now, that’s completely off the table, meaning Jon Jones has to either fight Tom Aspinall or walk away, and we all know which one he’s going to choose.

My guess is Jones tries to negotiate a little longer, asking for an exorbitant price and hoping the UFC ultimately decides it needs a mega fight to juice up their broadcast rights negotiations. But I do not think the promotion pays Jon his asking price or anywhere near it and so by the summer I expect Tom Aspinall to defend his belt against Ciryl Gane as Jon retires from the sport.

Fighters of the Year?

“Not a question, just pretty crazy to think that the two consensus top vote getters for Fighter of the Year 2024 (Ilia and Alex) are no longer champions before the first quarter of the year is done.”

I had not thought of this but yes, it is WILD that this is true. If you had asked anyone to bet against you on this they would have laughed in your face. Nobody saw this one coming. 2024 was essentially dominated by Ilia Topuria and Alex Pereira, and while Topuria chose to vacate his title, it’s still pretty crazy to think about. And it speaks to my favorite thing to harp on about: how defending a title is the most difficult thing in MMA.

One of the most compelling parts of MMA is that anything can happen, and this just goes to show you how true that is. You have to bring your ‘A’ game to the cage every time out or you might lose the title. And even if you don’t, perhaps the prospect of defending a belt over and over again no longer motivates you, so you have to try and find something else to chase. Champions who put up 5, 6, or 7+ title defenses over a number of years are the actual greatest fighters of all time, because if other people could do it, they would.

Big Ank Time

Who do you think is the toughest match Jp for big ank time at 205 other than puaton
— (@andrewlg.bsky.social) 2025-03-10T16:28:36.644Z

“Who do you think is the toughest match up for ‘Big Ank Time’ at 205 other than ‘Poatan?’”

I’m tempted to go with Jan Blachowicz here because we already saw them fight and Ankalaev barely escaped with a split decision win. But Blachowicz is a few years older now and declining, so the actual answer should surprise no one: Jiri Prochazka.

Perhaps this is homerism because Prochazka is one of my favorite active fighters, but there’s a reason the man has only lost to Pereira in the past decade — he’s damn good. And while Pereira presents a uniquely bad style matchup for Prochazka, Ankalaev does not. In fact, Prochazka has a very good chance at unseating the new champion if he gets the opportunity. He’s quicker and far more athletic, and while Ankalaev took Pereira out of his game with some smart tactical decisions, Jiri is much more likely to force more hectic exchanges than Pereira.

I’d still favor Ankalaev slightly, but Prochazka is a very live dog in such a matchup.

Lightweights

“Who do you think of the next generation of lightweights (not counting Armen Tsarukyan) has the highest ceiling as a fighter? Between Ignacio Bahamondes, Mauricio Ruffy, Joel Alvarez, Mateusz Rebecki, Myktybek Orolbai, etc I don’t know if any are future champs but BOY ARE THEY FUN.”

Yes. Yes, they are. Because lightweight was and always will be the best division in MMA.

First, shout out to the lightweights at UFC 313. Justin Gaethje delivered yet another immaculate feather in the cap of a career that’s destined to be underrated, Ignacio Bahamondes declared himself the real deal, and Mauricio Ruffy scored what I can only assume will be the Knockout of the Year. Damn fine work from all.

As for which of the next generation will be the best, I’d go with one fighter you left off this list: Usman Nurmagomedov. Yes, Nurmagomedov just eked out a controversial decision in his last fight, but he’s also still only 26 years old and he’s arguably the most talented of the Team Khabib fighters. Plus Paul Hughes is a damn fine fighter himself and also one to watch in the next generation.

But if you’re restricting this to UFC fighters only, the give me Bahamondes. Alvarez isn’t really in the next generation since he’s 32, Rebecki and Orolbai are better than they are fun (which matters at lightweight), and while this is a harder sell given what he just did, Ruffy is the Fighting Nerds guys I like the least (which is like saying he’s the worst winning lottery ticket, he’s still great).

Bahamondes is still figuring out how to fight a little bit, but he’s massive for lightweight, dangerous everywhere, and has the appropriate mentality. Give me Nacho for the win.

Also, Luke Thomas talked about this some this week and I echo his sentiment: the current crop of elite lightweights is a once-in-a-lifetime group. Justin Gaethje, Dustin Poirier, Charles Oliveira, and Michael Chandler have been at the top of this division for longer than should be possible, but almost every time the next generation has had a chance to replace them, the old guard says “Hold on a minute.” Truly special stuff.

Surprise

“What was the most surprising moment of UFC 313 for you?”

It had to be Jalin Turner’s shocking retirement after getting tapped by Bahamondes in the feature fight on the main card.

I was extremely high on Turner as a prospect and despite his current run of bad form, he’s still relatively young. But hearing Turner speak afterward and it seems this is something he’s been considering and that his heart isn’t in the sport anymore. Nothing wrong with that at all and I wish him all the best, but definitely the most surprising outcome of the evening.

Jalin Turner

If Jalin Turner has retired for good, how will you remember his career?
— Samuel Tromans (@samueljtromans.bsky.social) 2025-03-09T09:41:20.917Z

“If Jalin Turner has retired for good, how will you remember his career?”

He’ll have to be remembered as a “What If.” This is a fighter who had all the potential in the world but only scratched the surface of what he may have been capable of. We saw that when Turner was at his best, he was a problem for anyone he stepped in against; however, it seems like Turner lacked something in the mental side of things to become a truly elite fighter.

Even so, he had a solid little run there and his five-fight finish streak after the Matt Frevola loss was real fun. Happy trails, Tarantula.

Thanks for reading and thanks to everyone who sent in tweets (Xs?)! Do you have any burning questions about things at least somewhat related to combat sports? Then you’re in luck because you can send your tweets to me, @JedKMeshew, and I will answer my favorite ones! It doesn’t matter if they’re topical or insane, just so long as they are good. Thanks again, and see y’all next week.