“Love You More Than My Wife”: UFC Fans Rally Behind Alex Pereira After ‘Poatan’ Shows Dominance Over Magomed Ankalaev Post-Title Loss

Alex Pereira’s fight against Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 313 left a lot to be desired. Despite his incredible 100% takedown defense rate, successfully defending all 11 of Ankalaev’s takedown attempts, Pereira’s performance was far too cautious, courtesy of an overly defensive mindset triggered by the fear of takedowns.

It had clearly taken ‘Poatan’ away from his usual aggressive style of pressing forward and overwhelming opponents with his powerful strikes. Instead, he appeared hesitant, with far fewer strikes than his opponent on the night. And it cost him.

But here’s the thing: the fans haven’t turned their backs on him. Quite the opposite, in fact.

When Pereira posted a video of himself throwing Ankalaev to the ground during the fight, his comment section was flooded with words of encouragement, disappointment, and outright passion from the MMA community.

They called him “The People’s Champ” and urged him to remember who he truly is.

“Don’t forget who tf you are and march forward next time,” one fan encouraged the former champ.

Others demanded he be given a shot against Ankalaev again, saying, “Immediate rematch, you don’t have time to wait, next time up.“

Some sympathized with the challenge of balancing defense and attack. “Lost the fight, worried too much about defending, forgot to attack.”, they added.

One fan even hilariously confessed, “Alex I love you more than my wife buh take this down.” Meanwhile, Dillon Danis, who has sparred with Pereira, chimed in with, “I feel better about myself after how many times you hit me with this kkkkk.”

The message is loud and clear: ‘Poatan’ is still their champion, no matter what the record says. However, this video is definitely embarrassing. Because in the 25 minutes of the right, this, along with a late head kick in the 4th round, were practically all the offense he could manage.

So, posting this video as if it were some proof of a greater performance is delusional at best and dishonest at its worst.

What Pereira could instead do is focus on what’s next for him.

Pereira’s message to the fans after UFC 313 loss

‘Potan‘ is urging his fans not to worry because this is not something he hasn’t overcome in the past. The Brazilian fighter lost his belt to Israel Adesanya at UFC 287 but then went up in weight and won the light heavyweight belt.

One loss in the division, that too a decision loss, does not define him. And he knows that better than anyone else.

Following the fight, he did not seem to be in low spirits; in fact, he was seen dancing with his team and UFC legend Chuck Lidel in his hotel room.

Pereira even posted a video on his social media, reassuring fans of a resurgence.

 “I’ll be back like I’ve always done, this has already happened sometimes but I’m good. I’m grateful for all your support, for all your love, always supporting me,” he said.

“Gonna make some adjustments for the rematch, and I’ll be back much better.”, he promised.

Well, it’s clear that ‘Poatan’ now knows what to do in the rematch. He needs to throw more of those thunder hands that have been knocking out people since he made it to the UFC. Anything else would be a disservice to his talents.