UFC 320 takeaways: And with that, Alex Pereira ends one of the UFC's most forgettable title reigns

Alex Pereira is back atop the UFC light heavyweight division after stopping Magomed Ankalaev with strikes at the 1:20 mark of Round 1 in the UFC 320 main event. Is a move to heavyweight inevitable now for the champ who already has titles in two weight classes?

Here are our five biggest takeaways examining that and other pressing questions to come out of Saturday’s event at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

1. The age of “chama” isn’t over yet, which ought to be a cause for much rejoicing throughout the land. Say this for Alex Pereira, the man has great timing. This is true not just for knowing when to loose a left hook or a looping right overhand, though his first-round TKO finish of Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 320 shows he definitely still has that going for him. But the man also knows just how and when to capture a moment. As in, say, the crucial moment right after a fight has been stopped but before his downed prey can gather wits enough to stand up and ruin his perfect photo op.

Now the 205-pound belt is back around Pereira’s waist, which probably suits most people outside the Ankalaev family just fine. Even when he didn’t have the title, Pereira was the biggest star the UFC had at light heavyweight. He has style and power and the type of charisma that doesn’t need any of those superfluous extras like words and talking.

Reclaiming the title now, when the UFC has plenty of work available for him across two different divisions (heavyweight has been calling his name for a while now) is another instance of great timing for “Poatan.” At age 38, any of these next fights could be the last good one for him. So he might as well go big (literally and figuratively) now and see what he can make of the UFC's biggest boys. There’s never been a better time for it — or a better person to jump up and seize that moment.

2. So ends one of the more forgettable UFC title reigns. How badly did Ankalaev struggle to get a crumb of attention even while holding down a championship in a glamour division of the sport’s top promotion? So badly that he had to try for a rebrand as “Big Ank,” which must have taken about as long to think up as it took Pereira to snatch the belt back from him.

Ankalaev’s title reign ends just about seven months after it began, with zero successful defenses. That alone is not necessarily a knock on him. Anybody could lose to Pereira, and most do. But after such a bland and unremarkable tenure as champ, it’s hard to see the UFC being in any great rush to put this man into another title fight. It’s not just because he can’t seem to get fans to care about him. It’s also because he’s still really good and might mess around and win any title fight you give him. And we’ve seen what happens then.

As much as we might want Pereira to move up in order to give us dream fights against top heavyweights, Ankalaev should want it even more. It might be the only way he’ll ever get another crack at UFC gold.

3. Are we ready now to call Merab Dvalishvili the greatest bantamweight champ in UFC history? Sure seem like we ought to be. He’s won four title fights in the past 13 months. He’s beaten four of the top five at 135 pounds — three of them just in this calendar year. Even when an opponent comes in with good scouting, good preparation and a good game plan, it doesn’t matter. Merab still does Merab things, and no one can stop him.

Cory Sandhagen didn’t fight a bad fight here. He did everything that could be reasonably expected of him. The fact that it wasn’t anywhere near enough just proves how far ahead of the field the champ is right now. And in case you haven’t noticed, he isn’t the type of guy who seems very interested in slowing down.

4. Jiri Prochazka proves once again that being an intense weirdo with an unshakable belief in himself is, in fact, an excellent base for MMA. There were moments in this fight where Khalil Rountree Jr. seemed like he might be on the verge of stepping on the gas and pulling away for good. There were also moments where Rountree looked like he’d have forked over his entire purse just to get Prochazka to back off and let him breathe for a second.

Through it all, the look on Prochazka’s face really didn’t change much. Whether he’s winning or losing, something about his bearing inside the cage suggests he always thinks that he’s just about to win. He might look bizarre and awkward at times, and he’s definitely going to give opponents some opportunities that they never even asked for, but he’s also going to keep surging forward until you force him to stop.

I don’t think another fight with Pereira would turn out any better for him (too many of those aforementioned opportunities are still in his game). But I do believe that Prochazka believes it would. He’d believe it even if he lost the next 10 in a row, and that’s something you just can’t teach person. So far no one has been able to beat it out of him, either.

Jeff Bottari via Getty Images

5. Joe Pyfer reminds us that it’s more important to finish strong than it is to start that way. “Bodybagz” didn’t look spectacular in that opening round with Abus Magomedov. He looked, in fact, like he might be headed for the type of loss that would derail the hype train just as it was leaving the station. But he came out for the second round as if none of that had happened, then got right back to work and earned himself a finish.

It’s not the approach he can afford to take against the elite of the middleweight division. But wins like this are how you get the chance to test yourself against the cream of that crop. Pyfer’s shot at it might be coming sooner than expected.