5 questions that could be answered at UFC 313

This weekend sees the UFC's latest pay-per-view take place in Las Vegas. The headliner features one of the most highly anticipated bouts in some time.

There are plenty of questions swirling around UFC 313: Alex Pereira vs. Magomed Ankalaev, but will they really be answered this weekend?

Some could definitely be, but others may end up simply turning into different questions entirely. As always with MMA, nobody can be sure.

Here, then, are five questions that could be answered at UFC 313: Alex Pereira vs. Magomed Ankalaev.

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#5. Can Rizvan Kuniev be a shot in the arm for the UFC heavyweight division?

The best preliminary fight on offer at UFC 313 sees longtime heavyweight contender Curtis Blaydes face off with newcomer Rizvan Kuniev. It's a highly intriguing fight for a number of reasons.

Blaydes has been one of the few constants in the heavyweight division over the past decade. He's never quite reached the top, largely due to a questionable chin, but he's tended to beat anyone not considered a high-level title contender.

Kuniev, though, is a massively intriguing opponent for him.The Dagestani is 12-2, and has not lost a fight since 2015. He won his bout on Dana White's Contender Series impressively, and beat the highly rated PFL fighter Renan Ferreira before the result was overturned due to a positive drug test.

It's fair to say that the Dagestani has never fought anyone on the level of Blaydes before, but given the questionable durabilility of 'Razor' and the heavy hands of Kuniev, an upset here is possible.

The heavyweight division is remarkably thin right now, meaning that any fighter who can debut in style has a chance of climbing into the rankings.

Unlike recent debutants Mario Pinto and Tallison Teixeira, though, Kuniev has a chance of knocking off a legitimate title contender this weekend. If he can do that, crazily enough, he'll probably be just one or two fights away from a title shot himself.

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#4. Who will reach the rankings first: Jean Silva or Mauricio Ruffy?

Few camps have burst onto the UFC scene in recent years with as much hype as the 'Fighting Nerds' team.

Middleweight contender Caio Borralho has already cracked the top 10 in his division, and the big question now is which of his teammates - featherweight Jean Silva or lightweight Mauricio Ruffy - will get a number by their name next.

Silva already picked up his first win of 2025 last month, smashing Melsik Baghdasaryan in impressive fashion. 'Lord' will now get a shot at top 15-ranked Bryce Mitchell next time out.

Ruffy, though, may get there before him. The Brazilian is currently 2-0 in the octagon, and has looked highly impressive thus far.

This weekend sees him fight Bobby 'King' Green, a fighter who was ranked in the top 15 as recently as last summer.

A dangerous boxer and wrestler, Green is probably better than both of Ruffy's previous opponents in the octagon, but he's getting no younger. Given the form shown thus far by the Fighting Nerds representative, this bout is very winnable for him.

The question, then, is whether he can take out Green impressively enough to climb into the top 15.

A flashy finish could well elevate Ruffy above the likes of Benoit Saint Denis and Grant Dawson, and push him ahead of his teammate Silva in their own race to the top, too.

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#3. Can Jalin Turner show why he's ranked in the UFC lightweight division?

The UFC's ranking system has always drawn controversy, with a common complaint being the fact that a fighter can, at times, remain in the top 15 of their division despite not being in the best form.

Jalin Turner would probably fall into that category. 'The Tarantula' is still ranked at No. 13 in the lightweight division despite losing his last fight and being on a run of 1-3 in his last four bouts since 2022.

Whether Turner would be able to keep his place if he were to lose to Ignacio Bahamondes this weekend, though, would be debatable.

Bahamondes will be the first non-ranked opponent for 'The Tarantula' since 2022, and a loss to him would absolutely bring into question Turner's spot, not just in the rankings, but perhaps on the roster altogether.

At his best, though, Turner is a great fighter, using his long reach and range to catch his foes with both nasty strikes as well as opportunistic chokes.

Realistically, this is his chance to prove that he does belong near the top of the lightweight division, and more than most fighters this weekend, he needs to win.

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#2. Should fans be concerned about the durability of Justin Gaethje?

UFC 313's co-headliner will see Rafael Fiziev step in on late notice to face off with action hero Justin Gaethje. The bout will be a rematch of a clash in 2023 that saw Gaethje edge out a victory via decision.

Given Fiziev's late notice and Gaethje's prior win over him, then, many fans are favoring 'The Highlight' to win out again.

However, there is one nagging doubt over Gaethje right now, and that's his durability.

For years, 'The Highlight' fought with reckless abandon, using his iron chin to absorb shots that would've felled others before firing back with his own incredible punching power.

However, last year saw him on the wrong end of one of the UFC's all-time great knockouts, as Max Holloway left him unconscious in the final second of their epic bout.

It was the kind of knockout that could change a career, as we've seen plenty of times in the UFC over the years with the likes of Chuck Liddell and Anderson Silva.

So could Gaethje's chin be cracked for good? Given the striking power of Fiziev, who has eight knockouts on his ledger, we could find out this weekend.

'Ataman' is likely to be desperate given his late notice, so whether Gaethje can still take a punch is absolutely the key question in this weekend's co-headliner.

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#1. Is Magomed Ankalaev really Alex Pereira's kryptonite?

For a long time now, some observers have talked up Magomed Ankalaev as the potential kryptonite for UFC light heavyweight champ Alex Pereira.

The logic behind this claim is simple. While 'Poatan' has reigned supreme over the 205 pound division since moving there in 2023, already putting together three successful title defenses, there are some question marks around him.

Pereira has destroyed three fellow strikers in Jiri Prochazka, Jamahal Hill, and Khalil Rountree Jr. He's undoubtedly the most talented kickboxer we've seen at light heavyweight for years.

However, he's never fought a grappler on the level of Ankalaev before. While the Dagestani is not as effective a takedown artist as his countrymen Khabib Nurmagomedov or Islam Makhachev, he's more than capable of taking a foe down and bullying them on the ground.

This approach almost won Ankalaev the vacant 205-pound title back in 2022 when he fought Jan Blachowicz, only for a debated judging decision to cost him the win.

Despite this, though, there's a sneaking suspicion that even though he's unbeaten since 2018 - a run of 13 bouts - Ankalaev may not be ready for the kind of striking ferocity that Pereira is capable of.

Either way, then, we will find out the truth of this claim this weekend. If Ankalaev can bully Pereira to the ground and keep him there, we'll have a new champion.

If 'Poatan' comes out on top though, to be quite frank, it'll be hard to ever doubt him again.