Rashad Evans thinks Alex Pereira’s explosive rant on Magomed Ankalaev is a good sign ahead of their UFC 320 light heavyweight title rematch.
Pereira (12-3 MMA, 9-2 UFC) showed more animation than any point in his UFC tenure just over a week out from the Oct. 4 headliner at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas (ESPN+ pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+), claiming that Ankalaev (21-1-1 MMA, 12-1-1 UFC) intentionally “hid” from him at the UFC Performance Institute.
The Brazilian labeled Ankalaev as a “sh*t champion” in a heated reaction video following the near-encounter, upping the tension ahead of the rematch from UFC 313 in March, which Ankalaev won by unanimous decision to claim gold.
Former 205-pound king, UFC Hall of Famer and ESPN analyst Evans said he likes to see the fire from Pereira as fight week approaches. It’s not typical of his personality, and for Evans, it’s an important wrinkle that already differs the buildup from the first matchup.
“I love that,” Evans told MMA Junkie. “I’m glad that he’s kind of reconnected to that savage part of himself. Because listen, this isn’t a nice contest. Yeah, it’s great, you can have respect for your opponent. But there has to be that part of you that is just an asshole, to say the least. You’ve got to be a savage in there. For him to tap back into that savagery, he’s going to need to do that. He’s going to need that. I’m glad he’s feeling that way, and I’m glad that he’s not liking him. Shake hands and be friends after the competition.”
After Pereira’s historic 2024 run, the narrative has shifted in 2025. There’s speculation his busy schedule in and out of the octagon in the months leading to his title loss impacted the performance. Or perhaps age and many combat sports miles finally cost him a step.
The scenario with the most evidence, however, is that Ankalaev was just better on the night. How much better, though? Evans doesn’t see it as an insurmountable gap, and predicts it will be one he overcomes – especially given his personal knowledge that Pereira is “dialled in” and has limited distractions.
Evans said it needs to be that way, too, because it’s a must-win for Pereira to preserve his staying power at the top of the sport. It wasn’t long ago he had a strong case as the UFC’s biggest active star, but if he goes 0-2 against Ankalaev, at 38, Evans said it opens “Poatan” up to some tough questions.
“This is a big fight for him because if he doesn’t win this fight, then his next step, he’s probably going to have to leave light heavyweight and go up to heavyweight,” Evans said. “That would probably be the smartest move for him. I’m not saying that he can’t beat Ankalaev. But two in a row with him, it would be a tough one to go forward. Especially at the age he’s at right now. You don’t want to give anybody their eulogy or anything like that when they are a great performer, but at the same time, if he doesn’t win this fight, it’s like, do we plan on doing?
“I’m going to go with Alex Pereira. I feel he’s going to make the adjustments. I’ve got a lot of faith in his team. I think (Glover) Teixeira and Plinio (Cruz) are very good at making the adjustments that they need to. Alex, when I seen him last, he seems to be really locked in to doing what he needs to do in camp without the distractions and really just making sure he gets the training partners he needs to get. Fight from that place that he knows if he fights from that, he can win.”
To hear more from Evans, check out his complete appearance on “The Bohnfire” podcast with MMA Junkie senior reporter Mike Bohn above.
