The UFC 313 loss against Magomed Ankalaev was Alex Pereira’s second loss in the UFC. But now that he is happy to return for an August rematch, after seemingly being pushed into it by Ankalaev, former UFC champions don’t think it’s a particularly good idea. At its core is the notion that he needs to cut back on his travel time to give himself enough space of mind to properly prepare.
As shocking as the UFC 313 loss was to his fans, questions about his extracurricular activities had already been asked by former UFC champions like Daniel Cormier prior to the fight.
A fortnight before UFC 313, Pereira was seen tagging along at a Drake concert in Australia, much to DC’s concerns about not having a camp focused on winning.
At the time, he had brushed off the concerns, but on the day of reckoning, the former Glory world champion kickboxer looked rather subdued and only threw an alarming 11 headshots over 25 minutes. And now that he rushes to complete an attempted redemption arc in August, UFC veteran Henry Cejudo has warned him of the consequences of not slowing down.
In an episode of The Bohnfire on YouTube, Cejudo said, “I think if I’m Alex Pereira, I would just wait, let him fight one more time….Have Alex just wait, Alex just travels too much bro. He could see it, I mean that sh*t’s gonna catch up to you.”
Ceujudo’s concerns don’t just stem from that one appearance with Drake.
In the months since becoming a legitimate superstar in the UFC in 2024, Pereira has spent a considerable amount of time flying across the globe- from South Korea to Australua to his most recent trip to Monaco for David Natroshvili’s 48th birthday.
A former two-division champion and an Olympic gold medalist himself, Cejudo explained that one must commit yourself to the lifestyle, sleep well, eat well, and do all the boring things right to achieve longevity in the sport.
And it’s not just Cejudo who thinks Pereira should not take the immediate rematch against Ankalaev. Former middleweight title contender Chael Sonnen had also spoken out about Pereira’s immediate rematch with Ankalaev.
In an interview with Submission Radio, Sonnen explained that despite the claims of pestilence descending upon him, there was no way to justify that timid performance against Ankalaev.
“I gotta tell you, there is nothing within that first fight, whether illness, injury, or a combination of both, there was nothing about that first fight that would lead a reasonable analyst to believe you’re going to have a different outcome in the second fight”, Sonnen further noted.
In the meantime, Pereira has continued to claim that the judges were in the wrong to have awarded Ankalaev with the title. His reason is simple- a fallacious notion suggesting Ankalaev held him up against the cage without an intent to force his will on the then champion.
And as such, he suggests that the UFC or the athletic commissions must convene to pen new laws to keep the sport entertaining.
Pereira’s request for a new rule
It is true that over the last few years, the UFC has seen a rise in grapplers dominating strikers in the octagon through positional control, hoping to score enough points for a decision win. Pereira claims that was the exact template Ankalaev followed to secure a win against him on that fateful night.
“I think we should change these rules. If a person puts another person on the fence, they have to be there hurting. But he (Ankalaev) did nothing,” ‘Poatan’ stated in an interview with Ariel Helwani.
Naturally, Ankalaev was never going to let Pereira take his shine.
“He upset I hold him against the cage, but he not upset when I almost knock him out nobody in the world”, he said, promising that the rematch would be finished in under three rounds.
He upset I hold him against the cage, but he not upset when I almost knock him out nobody in the world thank you won next Fight will be KO under three round
— Muhammad big ANK Ankalaev (@AnkalaevM) March 27, 2025
How do you think Pereira fares in the rematch? Will he knock out Ankalaev and prove his point, or will history repeat itself in light of an evident lack of preparation?
