Dana White wants to see the UFC 313 main event one more time.

On Saturday night in Las Vegas Alex Pereira, who has emerged as one of the UFC’s most bankable stars since his debut with the organisation in late 2021, was defeated in a five-round decision by new 205-pound champ Magomed Ankalaev as the Russian took advantage of what appeared to be hesitancy in Poatan’s stand-up game given the consistent takedown threat presented throughout (even if Ankalaev went 0-12 in his attempts to take the contest to the canvas).

And with the fight being a close one, UFC boss Dana White says that the only option is run it back.

“It was not what I expected,” White told the media, including The Mac Life, post-fight inside the T-Mobile Arena on Saturday night. “I expected a lot more shooting, I expected a lot more exchanges. I thought Ankalaev won the fight. I wasn’t shocked when I heard the decision.”

“Probably,” White added, when asked about the potential for an immediate rematch.

One thing that White was keen to stress, though, was that it was of no surprise that Ankalaev proved to be among the biggest tests of Pereira’s career.

“There’s no doubt that everybody knew that Ankalaev was going to be a tough fight for him,” White explained. “Everybody knew that this was probably going to be the biggest challenge of his career.

“I wouldn’t take anything from Ankalaev, and the pressure he put on Alex tonight.”