By The Numbers: Magomed Ankalaev

Persistence certainly paid off in spades for Magomed Ankalaev.

The longtime contender made his way to the Ultimate Fighting Championship mountaintop when he captured the undisputed light heavyweight title with a five-round unanimous decision over Alex Pereira in the UFC 313 headliner on March 8 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Scores were 49-46, 48-47 and 48-47. Unbeaten in his past 14 appearances, Ankalaev now turns attention to what lies ahead as the 205-pound champion. It likely includes a rematch with Pereira, who ruled the division for almost 500 days before being dethroned.

As Ankalaev awaits word from UFC matchmakers on his next move, a look at some of the numbers that have accompanied him to this point:

32: Years of age for Ankalaev, who was born on June 2, 1992 in Teletl, Russia.

10: Ankalaev victories by knockout or technical knockout, accounting for 50% of his career total. His list of UFC victims: Ion Cutelaba (twice), Johnny Walker, Anthony Smith, Dalcha Lungiambula and Marcin Prachnio. He owns 10 other victories by decision (50%).

94: Significant strikes landed by Ankalaev across his five-round encounter with Pereira. It established a new personal high-water mark for the decorated Dagestani grappler.

15: Seconds needed for Ankalaev to punch Lloyd Marshbanks into submission under the World Fighting Championship Akhmat banner on April 9, 2016. Nearly nine years later, it remains his fastest finish to date.

60: Rounds started by Ankalaev as a professional mixed martial artist. He has gone the distance on 11 different occasions and carries a 10-0-1 record in those bouts.

7: Knockdowns landed by Ankalaev as a UFC light heavyweight, tying him with Ryan Bader for seventh on the promotion’s all-time list at 205 pounds. Only Chuck Liddell (14), Mauricio Rua (14), Khalil Rountree (13), Lyoto Machida (11), Alexander Gustafsson (nine) and Quinton Jackson (eight) have been credited with more.

17: Men other than Ankalaev who have held the undisputed UFC light heavyweight championship. Pereira, Liddell, Jackson, Rua, Machida, Randy Couture (twice), Jon Jones (twice), Frank Shamrock, Tito Ortiz, Vitor Belfort, Forrest Griffin, Rashad Evans, Daniel Cormier, Jan Blachowicz, Glover Teixeira, Jiri Prochazka and Jamahal Hill complete the list.

200,000: Dollars in post-fight bonuses banked by Ankalaev across his 14 assignments in the UFC. He has been awarded “Performance of the Night” four times.

4: Organizations for which Ankalaev has plied his mixed martial arts trade. In addition to the UFC and WFCA, he has suited up for Oplot Challenge and Tesla Fighting Championship.

.701: Cumulative winning percentage between the only two men—Blachowicz and Paul Craig—that Ankalaev has failed to defeat. They boast a combined record of 46-19-2. Ankalaev tapped to a literal last-second triangle choke from Craig at UFC Fight Night 127 on March 17, 2018 and settled for a split draw with Blachowicz at UFC 282 on Dec. 10, 2022.