A former UFC title challenger has claimed fan-favorite Alex Pereira has taken a leaf out of the former WWE boss Vince McMahon’s playbook in a bid to remain popular despite his recent title fight defeat.
Pereira, arguably the biggest star on the promotion’s books right now, was featured in a fight as recently as UFC 313 last month and was toppled by the incoming Magomed Ankalaev. Finding himself on the wrong side of a unanimous judging loss, Pereira also saw fans turn on him following a timid day at the office.
However, in the time since, it seems the former two-division champion has almost risen. Earlier yesterday, he made an appearance on the crowd cam at UFC Fight Night Mexico City to loud applause by the crowd, prompting, UFC veteran Chael Sonnen to call it an exquisite PR move.
“Yeah, [it’s] Vince McMahon 101,” Sonnen said on Good Guy/Bad Guy.
“Give the audience what they want. But not what they’re expecting. And I just think that that’s a little piece from (Alex) Pereira I don’t think we expected him to surface”, the former middleweight contender claimed.
Former UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira with Julio César Chávez in Mexico City. pic.twitter.com/BpdnVA1B3n
— Ring Magazine (@ringmagazine) March 30, 2025
Pereira has been busy for a couple of weeks now, from being out in public to showing up on Ariel Helwani, calling for a change of rules against wasting time. Pereira has been building some goodwill back up. Stories about him fighting with a broken hand and a flu have also surfaced in the last few weeks.
This led to some scrutiny by fans who claimed he was making excuses for a poor performance. But with the UFC: Mexico City guest appearance, he seems to have really impressed Sonnen.
“I don’t think that we expected him to be dressed nice,” he said of Pereira’s appearance at the event.
“And not be moping around- not to mention it wasn’t a pay-per-view it’s in a different country“, he added, explaining the PR value of a former champion showing up at a Fight Night in Mexico.
In the meantime, Pereira has also accepted a light heavyweight title rematch against Anklaev in August
Pereira waiting for marching orders
Earlier last week, the champion Ankalaev reacted to the stories of the Brazilian being injured before their UFC 313 fight and asserted that nobody in the business fights at 100%.
He had then claimed to have already asked the UFC for an August date for their rematch but had also stated about moving on from Pereira should he not be fit by that time.
In response, Pereira has confirmed his willingness to fight before the summer’s end.
“Nothing has come to me yet, but August is a good date,” Pereira told Helwani. “As soon as the contract gets in, I’m signing it”, the former champion asserted.
“Maybe without [Israel Adesanya] I wouldn’t be where I am today. I wouldn’t have got into the UFC with the good contract that I did due to the history we have.”
Alex Pereira reflects on his relationship with Israel Adesanya. pic.twitter.com/2kdk7H2Cmr
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) January 27, 2025
Interestingly, post-UFC 313, Ankalaev has further fueled their rivalry, with his camp accusing the Brazilian of greasing to avoid being taken down. Pereira has, however, vehemently denied taking part in any such practices.
