Alex Pereira Reveals: I Fought at 40% in the Loss Against Ankalaev
Former UFC champion Alex Pereira has revealed that he competed “at 40%” of his capacity during his light heavyweight title fight against Magomed Ankalaev earlier this year. Pereira (12-3) is preparing to face Ankalaev (21-1-1) for the second time at UFC 320, scheduled for October 4th in Las Vegas. The first encounter between the two took place in March at UFC 313, where Ankalaev took the victory by unanimous decision after five rounds.After that fight, speculation arose about Pereira’s physical condition. UFC commentator Joe Rogan suggested that Pereira had fought with a hand injury. Pereira himself admitted to having problems during the fight, although he did not specify details.
A week away from the rematch, Pereira has confirmed that he wasn’t in his best shape during the first fight.Pereira, 38 years old, has experience fighting despite injuries. In April 2024, he agreed to headline UFC 300 against Jamahal Hill despite having a broken toe. Two months later, he re-injured his toe during the defense of his title against Jirí Prochazka at UFC 303. Originally from Brazil, Pereira is a two-category kickboxing and MMA champion, with over 50 professional fights in total. The tension between Pereira and Ankalaev, 33, has been increasing in the last weeks leading up to the rematch. Both faced each other this week at the UFC Performance Institute in Las Vegas. Pereira accused Ankalaev of speaking ill of him online and then avoiding him in person. Ankalaev responded that he has lost all respect for the former champion. In their first encounter, Ankalaev was declared the winner by unanimous decision of the judges. Two of them gave him the victory in three of the five rounds, while the third awarded him four rounds against one of Pereira.“I think the condition I came into that fight with, honestly, was 40%,” Pereira told CBS Sports through an interpreter. “I’ll be much better this time. Even if I’m at 50% [in the rematch], that 10% will make a big difference. I won’t leave any doubt for anyone.”
Alex Pereira
