Alex Pereira inspires trepidation like few others.
As Pereira and Anklaev move ever closer to their high-stakes showdown at 205 pounds, a look at some of the numbers that have accompanied them to this point:
37: Years of age for Pereira, who was born on July 7, 1987 in Sao Bernardo do Campo, Brazil.
10: Pereira victories by knockout or technical knockout, accounting for 83% of his career total (12). His list of pre-UFC victims: Thomas Powell, Marcus Vinicius Fialho da Silveira and Marcelo Cruz. Pereira holds two other victories by decision (17%).
127: Significant strikes landed by Pereira in his aforementioned rout of Rountree. It established a new personal high-water mark for the Brazilian boogeyman.
3: Companies for which Pereira has plied his mixed martial arts trade. In addition to the UFC, he has competed in Jungle Fight and the Legacy Fighting Alliance.
.754: Cumulative winning percentage between the eight opponents—Rountree, Jiri Prochazka (twice), Jamahal Hill, Jan Blachowicz, Israel Adesanya, Sean Strickland, Bruno Silva and Andreas Michailidis—Pereira has beaten as a member of the UFC roster. They boast a combined record of 177-57-2.
32: Years of age for Ankalaev, who was born in Teletl, Russia, on June 2, 1992.
10: Ankalaev wins by knockout or technical knockout, accounting for 53% of his career total (19). His list of pre-UFC victims: Celso Ricardo da Silva, Wagner Prado, Maxim Grishin and Lloyd Marshbanks. Ankalaev owns nine other wins by decision (47%).
58: Rounds started by Ankalaev as a professional mixed martial artist. He has gone the distance on 10 different occasions and carries a 9-0-1 record in those bouts.
15: Seconds needed for Ankalaev to strike Marshbanks into submission at a World Fighting Championship Akhmat show on April 9, 2016. Nearly nine years later, it remains his fastest finish to date.
208: Combined victories between the 10 opponents—Rakic, Ion Cutelaba (twice), Johnny Walker, Anthony Smith, Thiago Santos, Volkan Oezdemir, Nikita Krylov, Dalcha Lungiambula, Klidson Abreu and Marcin Prachnio—Ankalaev has defeated as a member of the UFC roster. They sport a cumulative .686 winning percentage at 208-95-1.