UFC 320: Alex Pereira gets his chance at redemption after rare humbling loss against Magomed Ankalaev

In a span of less than four years, Alex Pereira has authored one of the most unique and impressive UFC runs in the 32-year history of the promotion after he transitioned to MMA following a Hall-of-Fame career as a two-division GLORY kickboxing champion. 

While many of his predecessors struggled with the time it takes to adapt to a new sport or the painstaking hours necessary to evolve one’s skillset to elite level, Pereira has made it seem like nothing is impossible and all of the limitations that apply to others have nothing at all to do with him. 

The Brazilian slugger is 9-2 in the Octagon with seven victories via knockout. Pereira has won titles in two divisions, has fought in title bouts for nine of his 11 UFC appearances and holds a promotional record with three title defenses in just a 175-day span in 2024, which saw him claim fighter of the year. 

Despite that meteoric run to global stardom, however, for the fighter who, only seven months ago was considered the face of the UFC despite not speaking English, Pereira (12-3) was noticeably humbled by a lackluster performance in March at UFC 313 (in a particularly lackluster headlining bout) when “Poatan” lost his light heavyweight title via unanimous decision to Magomed Ankalaev (20-1-1, 1 NC).

While Pereira deserved credit for bucking the pre-fight narrative that Ankalaev, a native of Dagestan, Russia, was going to dominantly wrestle him for five rounds by stuffing all 12 takedown attempts, he was outgunned on the feet by his more technical foe in a performance that took a good deal of air out of his legendary balloon. 

As the top two 205-pound fighters in the world prepare for an immediate rematch on Saturday, in the main event of a UFC 320 pay-per-view card from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, the question suddenly becomes whether Pereira can right the wrong of his first defeat at light heavyweight by taking back his title or whether the 38-year-old has truly begun his descent from his prior pound-for-pound elite status.

One of the interesting fight-week narratives to evolve happened when Pereira admitted to CBS Sports that he was only 40% of his normal self in the first Ankalaev fight. It’s a narrative that makes sense considering Pereira’s history of accepting fights on short notice and fighting hurt, which is a gamble that eventually catch up with anyone.

The proud Pereria wouldn’t go as far as confirming the report after UFC 313 that he battled both norovirus and a broken hand entering the first Ankalaev fight, but it’s an excuse that loses some fuel when one finds out that Ankalaev, a devout Muslim, also went through training camp fully compromised while observing Ramadan. 

“[Dealing with the loss] is not cool but, then again, if I put together everything that was going on with me — and I’m not going to say it right now — it made me happy I was even able to fight,” Pereira said. “I’m not going to talk about anything like that. Of course, I’m not happy that I lost but knowing my potential and the way that I fought, I’m actually even surprised I was able to fight.”

It’s also possible that Pereira’s star turn caught up with him, as well, considering the amount of UFC promotional travel he undertook during training camp alone ahead of the first fight, which was something noted by Pereira’s lead trainer, former 205-pound champion Glover Teixeira, during the fliming of “UFC Countdown” when the Brazilian legend noted just how much they devoted this camp to cardio and keeping Pereira in one place at their Connecticut gym. 

If one is looking even further for evidence as to just how serious Pereira is taking his pursuit of recapturing his title, the normally mild-mannered and stoic fighter (who is known for his catchphrase “Chama”) looked visibly irriated during multiple run-ins with Ankalaev at the UFC Performance Institute in Las Vegas last week. Pereira accused Ankalaev of hiding from him, to which the new champion called him a liar as their multiple interactions were caught on camera.

“For me, it makes no difference [having beef with an opponent],” Pereira said. “I’m always cool, I’m normal. [Ankalaev] is the one that seemed nervous and scared. He is the one that seemed to be affected more by it.”

Another topic of contention between the fighters has surrounded Ankalaev’s inability to take Pereira down in the first meeting. Ankalaev claims that was due to him not having the energy to do so after training during Ramadan (not to mention his accusation that Pereira was extra “greasy” during the fight) while Pereira came up with a different theory. 

“For me, [the grease accusations] are no problem. I’m cool,” Pereira said. “I think [Ankalaev] doesn’t like it because I was able to prove that he’s not that good. I’m a striker and he’s a grappler. He’s supposed to be taking me down but I was showing that he’s not that great.”

Entering the rematch there remains some speculation as to whether Pereira can continue to make 205 pounds, which could mean Saturday ends up being his final bout at light heavyweight regardless of whether he wins or loses. That theory matches up with Pereira’s previously stated goals of one day moving up to heavyweight in an attempt to become the first UFC fighter to claim titles in three different divisions. 

Pereira, however, wouldn’t quite confirm that a move above 205 pounds was imminent. 

“When I joined the UFC in the middleweight division, my focus was to be a champion,” Pereira said. “Then, my body [changed] and I realized that I had to go up. When I went to light heavyweight, my focus was to be a champion. If my body tells me that I have to go up to heavyweight or to fight a heavyweight, my focus is also to be a champion.” 

With Pereira vowing the rematch against Ankalaev will be different, one has to wonder whether that means he takes the lead in terms of striking after spending most of the first fight on his backfoot fighting off the steady pressure of Ankalaev. 

Either way, it’s clear just how much Pereira is aware of the importance in winning this rematch to his overall resume as one of the shortest (he didn’t make his Octagon debut until age 34) and successful runs that any UFC fighter has ever authored.

“For sure, it’s going to be great for my story and for everything that I have built,” Pereira said. “I have had this fast career in the UFC and I have been able to achieve a lot, like the [2022 middleweight title knockout] of [Israel] Adesanya. Against him I won the belt and then I lost the belt. Then [I moved up] and I won the [light heavyweight] belt so winning the belt again is going to be great for my story.

“Sometimes yes, [I’m able to think about everything I’ve accomplished] and sometimes no. I know that I accomplished something that is really hard for other people to achieve. Some people don’t. It’s kind of hard to understand sometimes.”