Despite His Title Loss, Alex Pereira Receives Big Praise From Joe Rogan for an Excellent Skill That Propelled His UFC Career

Losing a title fight is never easy, but in the UFC, even a setback can come with silver linings. Just ask Alex Pereira. The former champ may have fallen short against Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 313, but that doesn’t mean his stock took a hit. In fact, despite the loss, he showcased an aspect of his game that has evolved so much that it caught Joe Rogan’s attention.

Rogan, who has seen countless fighters rise and fall, didn’t hesitate to praise Pereira for his takedown defense. Pereira managed to stuff every single one of Ankalaev’s takedown attempts – all 11 of them- at UFC 313, and perhaps in doing so, overlooked his own kickboxing strengths. 

However, should Pereira find the right balance of striking and grappling defense in his game, he could be a nightmare for the rest of the 205-pounders chasing Ankalaev’s title. After all, it’s his striking that the JRE host considers a true specialty.

Rogan asserts that if there were one discipline he could pick for a fighter to build a base on, it would be striking. Why? Well, it’s simple. Every fight starts on the feet, and if a fighter is not good at striking, he is automatically on the back foot as soon as the bell rings.

He argues that fighters still have the help of the cage to ensure they don’t get taken down but without a proper striking game, there is simply nowhere to run. 

Speaking further about this on his podcast with Josh Waitzkin, Rogan said, “You can kind of be a specialist if you’re a striker. A few guys can pull it off if they are really strong and have good takedown defense, like Pereira is the best example. Two-division world champion kickboxer comes over, dominates, becomes a two-division UFC champion.”

Pereira’s journey is sort of a testament to this theory. He’s taken on former world champions like Israel Adesanya, Jiri Prochazka, Jamahal Hill and others across two weight classes and won every fight but two.

However, it should also be noted that by coincidence or design, the Brazilian has been able to match up mostly with strikers, who don’t necessarily have a great ground game.

In fact, Ankalaev was the very first on Pereira’s rap sheet to boast of some grappling prowess. And sure enough, Pereira did well in that aspect of the fight, but in doing so, the idea of being taken down seemed to have played havoc on his game plan.

Regardless, it looks like he will have an opportunity to prove Rogan right, and soon.

Ankalaev is happy to give Pereira a title shot

“Not what I expected. Expected a lot more shooting. Expected a lot more exchanges.” This is what UFC boss Dana White said when asked about his thoughts on the title fight between the pair at UFC 313.

So, when the question came up about a potential rematch, White didn’t hesitate. “Probably,” he said without missing a beat.

Meanwhile, Ankalaev’s team also stirred up some controversy, accusing Pereira of greasing during the fight. For some fighters, that might be a reason to dodge a rematch—but not Ankalaev. “Alex, when you’re ready to go again. You deserve this,” he wrote on X, making it clear he’s down to run it back.

And why wouldn’t he? It’s a chance to silence doubters, secure another big payday, and defend his title in style.