Alex Pereira’s hopes and plan of moving up in weight chasing a third UFC title took a serious hit at UFC 313. His unanimous loss to Magomed Ankalaev not just cost him his light heavyweight belt but also raised doubts about whether he can handle bigger opponents.
Pereira has had tremendous success across two divisions in the UFC. The former kickboxing champion entered the promotion as a middleweight in 2021 and captured gold within a couple of years. He then lost his belt to Israel Adesanya in 2023, moved up to light heavyweight and captured gold in that division as well.
With two belts added to his resume, he had been eyeing a move to the heavyweight division. Fans, and even the stakeholders, have also been talking about a bout with Jon Jones — a legacy-sealing tussle, so to speak. Before UFC 313, even UFC CEO Dana White had hinted at this possibility.
However, Ankalaev showed that Pereira struggles when dealing with a well-rounded opponent. It wasn’t grappling that got the better of Brazilian, but just the fear of a takedown. To be fair, Pereira fought off Ankalaev each time the Russian attempted a takedown. But in doing so, he fought most of the bout moving back toward the cage, something he is not used to.
By the end of the fight, he had thrown fewer strikes than his opponent. With Pereira getting outstruck, there is a valid reason to doubt his abilities to deal with the big boys. Former UFC champion Daniel Cormier believes Pereira’s heavyweight plans will have to be shelved.
According to Cormier, Pereira has “maxed out the weight” and isn’t strong enough to deal with heavier fighters. The UFC may have had plans to push him toward a superfight with Jones had he won last weekend. But after what went down against Ankalaev, Cormier believes that the dream is all but over.
“When we watched Saturday, and watched him and Ankalaev fight, it gives me the idea that he has kind of maxed out the weight he can go up. I don’t think he is strong enough to deal with anyone bigger,” DC said in the latest episode of Good Guy/Bad Guy, while co-host Chael Sonnen concurred.
“The amount of pressure Ankalaev was able to generate without the danger coming back at him like we expected, those heavyweights will walk through what he was throwing at them,” added Cormier.
As Cormier, and fans in general, were shocked with Pereira’s loss, the Brazilian’s UFC 300 opponent, Jamahal Hill, was glad he was proven right.
Hill aces his Pereira prediction
The former light heavyweight champ, who got knocked out by Pereira last year, had made a bold prediction. Hill picked Ankalaev to win the UFC 313 fight.
Most fans called him a hater and asked him to move on from glory hunting using the former champion’s name. But Ankalaev outscored Pereira on the judges’ cards over five rounds to claim the title. Hill felt so vindicated that he burst out with a “I told you so”.
“But I’m a hater tho!,” he posted on X, firing back at critics. He doubled down with another post, laughing at those who doubted his analysis.
“Lmfao y’all are pathetic I didn’t care who won I called the fight how I saw and talk got mad and clearly don’t know s**t about fighting!!! d**k riding a man that don’t even know y’all! Me and Alex are cool and respect each other anytime we meet,” Hill wrote.
Before the fight, Hill had highlighted Ankalaev’s underrated striking, sharp counterpunching, and ability to disrupt pressure fighters like Pereira. While he admitted he does not have a particular liking for Ankalaev, he respects his skills.
In the end, Hill was spot on, proving once again that his fight breakdowns are the best in the sport.
