Fans Fear ‘Nina Curse’ as Alex Pereira Trains Ground Game With Nina-Marie Daniele Ahead of Ankalaev Fight

MMA fighters already have enough superstitions to worry about—the infamous Drake Curse, the Embedded Haircut Curse, and even the EA Sports Curse. But just when you thought the list couldn’t get any longer, fans have seemingly added a new one: The Nina Curse. At least, that’s what people are gearing up to blame if Alex Pereira loses at UFC 313 next weekend.

A training video featuring the social media personality has fans convinced that Pereira may have unknowingly doomed himself. Could this actually be a thing, or is it just another case of fight-week paranoia?

​Well, it is certainly paranoia because all the hulabaloo only started after Arman Tsarukyan’s injury-induced withdrawal from his UFC 311 main event against Islam Makhachev. Just days before the fight, Tsarukyan shared a lighthearted training video with Nina, leading some fans to speculate that this session contributed to his back injury. 

However, Tsarukyan clarified that his injury occurred during a stationary bike workout the night before the fight, not during the filming with Nina Drama.

Despite his explanation, the timing of her new video with Pereira has fueled discussions about the so-called ‘Nina Curse’ affecting fighters’ performances.​

This fan wasted no time in assuming talent and hard work mean nothing in the face of the influencer on the dark side and said, “If Alex loses blame it on Nina”.

Another just reiterated the previous point added, “the Nina curse”. This guy probably didn’t want to jinx anything, so he just said, “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”. 

It was to no avail as this next fan did jinx it by saying, “He better not pull out like Arman did”. 

But fret not, Pereira isn’t freaked out by all this Nina ‘drama’. However…

Pereira gets knocked out in training

Pereira is set to defend his title against Magomed Ankalaev on March 8 at UFC 313 in Las Vegas, and some—including Daniel Cormier—were worried about his recent trip to Sydney, Australia.

Pereira had flown to Sydney to corner Sean Strickland for his UFC 312 fight against Dricus Du Plessis, but he says it wasn’t just about being there for Strickland. He already had commitments in Australia, so the timing just worked out.

“People were saying, ‘Why go if you don’t even speak English?’ But it’s more than words. We vibe well together, and we’re in the same game,” Pereira told Bloody Elbow.

Before his 2016 kickboxing win over Israel Adesanya, he had a hectic schedule, too, and it didn’t affect the outcome. “I’ve done this a million times,” Pereira said. Of course, the traveling doesn’t mean he hasn’t been preparing for the fight with intensity. He has been relentlessly grappling with coach and former UFC 205 lbs champion Glover Texeira.

But while he does understand that ground game will play a huge role in the fight, he also knows not to deviate from his bread and butter – kickboxing.

However, a newly released video of him getting knocked out during sparring has people worried. Before we proceed, it should be noted that fighters do get knocked out in sparring sessions. It’s not a big ‘gotcha moment’.

Well, maybe the Nina curse is real!