Back in March, Alex Pereira and Magomed Ankalaev went head-to-head at UFC 313 inside the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Now, the two are set for a highly anticipated rematch at the very same venue on October 4th at UFC 320—the first pay-per-view card following September. As if the main event wasn’t already huge, the UFC just raised the stakes by stacking the main card even further.

Alongside Pereira vs. Ankalaev II, fans were already set to see bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili defend his title against Cory Sandhagen. The card also had Khalil Rountree taking on Jiří Procházka, plus Abus Magomedov vs. Joe Pyfer. And now, thanks to Dana White and UFC, another high-profile fight has been added—making UFC 320 one of the most loaded cards of the year.

UFC 320 welcomes Josh Emmett vs. Youssef Zalal

The announcement came during UFC Fight Night in Shanghai, China, where it was revealed that a featherweight clash between Josh Emmett and Youssef Zalal has been added to the UFC 320 card. Interestingly, both fighters have previously fallen to Ilia Topuria. Regardless, the matchup was confirmed by Damon Martin of MMA Fighting, who wrote on X, “Josh Emmett vs. Youssef Zalal added to #UFC320 in October. Here’s the new main card.”

This fight carries major stakes for both men. Emmett, the No. 8-ranked featherweight, is looking to rebound after a decision loss to Lerone Murphy—a setback that halted his momentum following his 2023 Knockout of the Year against Bryce Mitchell. Zalal, currently ranked No. 9, enters on a high after a statement victory over Calvin Kattar, setting up a compelling battle between two top contenders.

Besides the new addition to the card, coming back to Pereira and Ankalaev, can ‘Potan’ defeat Ankalaev this time around? 

Zhang Mingyang claims Alex Pereira is not as motivated

Zhang Mingyang, who suffered a second-round knockout defeat at the hands of Johnny Walker on Saturday night, believes Alex Pereira has lost some of the hunger that once made him one of the most dangerous strikers in the UFC. Before his fight, the surging light heavyweight shared his thoughts on the upcoming rematch between Magomed Ankalaev and Pereira at UFC 320.

“I think Ankalaev can defend his title because I think Alex Pereira is not as motivated as before,” Zhang told MMA Fighting. “If we can get the old Pereira back, he’s still the better striker than Ankalaev. But if he fights like he did last time, I think Ankalaev will win this fight again.” When asked why, Zhang pointed to Pereira’s financial success. 

“Because he has earned too much money,” Zhang explained. “If you are too rich, you are just kind of lacking motivation compared to when you are young, when you are poor, when you are hungry. I think that’s normal.”

While having too much money might not be the best argument to predict Pereira’s loss, his first defeat to Ankalaev raises some doubts. However, one thing is clear: with the addition of Josh Emmett vs. Youssef Zalal, UFC 320 just got even better. What do you think of the fight?