Many fans were waiting for a moment that would never come. They were waiting for a moment they had been conditioned – by the granite knuckles and shins of Alex Pereira – to expect, and yet instead, seconds and minutes ticked by. So accustomed to seeing “Poatan” live up to his “Stone Hands” moniker and crush opponents like a pestle in a mortar, they instead watched sands slip through the hourglass of his title defence against Magomed Ankalaev.
And indeed, each timely strike from Ankalaev was a grain upon a grain upon a grain, until there was (or should have been) no disputing the reality: the Russian light-heavyweight had simply outfought Pereira, validated by a unanimous-decision win. The 49-46 scorecard was fairest, while the two 48-47s flattered Pereira; and still, there were some fans who protested on behalf of Pereira.
Truthfully, the Brazilian was not especially close on that March night in Las Vegas’s T-Mobile Arena: not close to landing the knockout shot, and not close enough to Ankalaev to rein in the ever-stretching lead forged by the Russian. Pereira did impress in neutralising Ankalaev’s wrestling, and yet, to the surprise of those who had profiled the Dagestani as ‘just another wrestler’, Ankalaev had won the fight on the feet.
It should not necessarily have been a surprise. While Ankalaev, 33, does not have the striking pedigree of his kickboxing-champion opponent, he is also not the all-out grappler that some had presumed based on his background – despite contrary evidence. So, although Pereira thwarted Ankalaev’s wrestling, the challenger’s well-rounded game proved enough to keep him a step ahead of the champion, who lost that status atop the 205lb division by the end of the night.
There was a sombre shift within a section of the MMA fanbase, and a significant shift in the sport’s landscape. Pereira had been a scintillating champion in the cage, reconfiguring elite fighters into crumpled shapes left stranded on the canvas, and an entertaining one outside of it, leaning into meme culture and displaying an unexpected sense of humour.
Like the Brazilian, Ankalaev’s English is lacking, yet there hasn’t been the same ability to connect with the wider fanbase in spite of this language barrier. Furthermore, Ankalaev is not a stranger to a stoppage, but he has not proven himself capable of delivering them with the same consistency or emphasis as Poatan.
The prospect, therefore, of Ankalaev taking Pereira’s throne was a dispiriting one to many fans. And for those deflated fans, UFC 320 may not offer a reprieve.
Ankalaev and Pereira return to the T-Mobile Arena on Saturday (4 October) as the latter tries to wrestle back the crown at 205lb. Well, “wrestle” might not be the word, yet Ankalaev’s coach seems to think such a tactic would be Pereira’s best chance of victory, as he dismissed the Brazilian’s power in the latest example of unexpected needle between the fighters and their teams.
“Alex will go for the clinch, wrestle,” claimed coach Sukhrab Magomedov. “Why? Because in the stand-up, nothing will work out for him. Alex Pereira, there’s nothing with which he can surprise us. Not his work in the stand-up, in wrestling he definitely cannot surprise. He cannot surprise with anything. His technique is standard, his strikes are standard. He’s an old kickboxer. He has no speed.”
Then came the kicker. “Powerful punch? Alex has a punch, but not the kind that can really knock you out.”
It was a jibe that followed Pereira’s own dig at Ankalaev, when the rivals came face to face at the UFC Performance Institute in Vegas last week. “I never said anything; he talked,” Pereira said through a translator. “Now he comes out of nowhere and we’re face to face, you’re a coward.”
These latest exchanges come after the fallout from March’s fight, when Pereira hinted at an injury that almost led him to withdraw, while coach Magomedov suggested the Brazilian had been “greasing” (to make himself harder to grapple).
“It seemed to me that Pereira had some kind of substance on him. The sweat didn’t flow off his body, it gelled up. [Ankalaev] said afterwards that he smelled like he had some ointment on and was sticky.”
Pereira denied the allegations, sniping: “Sounds to me like [Ankalaev’s coach is] trying to make an excuse to justify the fact that he trained a guy to take me down, but the guy got stuffed on 12 takedowns. You mess up and you try to make excuses to justify that. You should ask if we put Vaseline on the mat as well?”
This needle has helped to raise anticipation for the rematch somewhat, yet the hype has not equalled that of past Pereira outings. And any antagonism aside, does coach Magomedov actually have a point? Are Pereira’s skills waning, at least, with the Brazilian now 38?
Results and performances, barring his loss to Ankalaev, suggest not. Between November 2023 and October 2024, he won the 205lb belt via knockout and retained it thrice by the same means. In that run, he stopped ex-champion Jiri Prochazka twice, another former champion in Jamahal Hill, and the game Khalil Rountree Jr.
Ankalaev and his team cannot afford complacency. Pereira’s power does not discriminate, regardless of the calibre of his foes. Yet one cannot help but feel that Ankalaev may have Pereira’s number, and that – as far as Poatan’s prime is concerned – his number may be up.
