alex pereira | UFC Betting Sites - The Best MMA Online Bookies

Henry Cejudo Backs ‘Greatest’ Dricus Du Plessis To Beat Khamzat Chimaev And Alex Pereira

Former UFC double champ Henry Cejudo has been so impressed with Dricus Du Plessis’s performance against Sean Strickland at UFC 312 that he went on to pick him against potential future opponents Khamzat Chimaev and Alex Pereira. The UFC middleweight kingpin was as dominant as he could be in his second outing against Strickland, skyrocketing […]

The UFC middleweight kingpin was as dominant as he could be in his second outing against Strickland, skyrocketing his brand even further. The challenger left with a broken nose at UFC 312, and before that, DDP showcased his grappling prowess by becoming the first fighter to submit Israel Adesanya.

Now, fans are excited to see “Stillknocks” get tested against Chimaev and Pereira. While “”Borz” is coming off an impressive first-round submission victory over Robert Whittaker, “Poatan” has looked invincible at light heavyweight.

In a recent episode of Pound 4 Pound with Kamaru & Henry, Cejudo heavily praised DDP for his cardio and explained why he could hand defeats to both Chimaev and Pereira:

“If you’re asking me now Kumaru, who is it if we do see a match between DDP and Alex Pereira. Even though I do believe that Pereira is going to beat Magomed Ankalaev, I’ll definitely put my money with DDP. I think DDP, stylistically, is a problem dude. And I know DDP is gonna go in there and f****g wrestle. And I think with the grappling, I think that could be very problematic, but there’s one thing that I will say is he will need to be careful because Alex Pereira does a really good job of cornering and there’s a lot of little sloppy things that DDP does but I think I put my strengths and his mixing of the fighting against a guy like Alex Pereira.”

While discussing a potential match-up with Chimaev, “Triple C” again picked the South African despite knowing that the Emirati fighter is on an iconic undefeated run. The latter’s ability to out grapple and finish elite fighters like Whittaker and Usman definitely makes him a threat to anyone at middleweight.

“I personally think he beats up Khamzat Chimaev. I don’t think it’s going to be easy to submit, I think DDP is scrambly and I think his conditioning, bro, I mean I want to put him up there. Even like this particularly, this last fight, you want to kind of, you know, maybe the top three, maybe greatest right now cardio in the UFC. Obviously, Merab is one and then you can go two three but whatever it is, he looked freaking good and he looked so good that fifth round where he was like hey, I was able to go another five more rounds. I mean this guy’s ready and this guy’s gonna be a problem for anybody at 185 lbs and I am excited to see this dude fight Khamzat and if he beats a guy like Khamzat Chimaev, I would love for him to go up and then fight the winner of Alex Pereira and Ankalaev.”

Ankalaev is the no.1 ranked UFC light heavyweight contender set to fight the champion at UFC 313 in T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada on March 8, 2025. The outcome of this fight will naturally impact the futures of the middleweight and light heavyweight divisions.

What’s Next After UFC 312? Current UFC 313 Card For Las Vegas On March 8

UFC 312 is in the books, meaning attention will soon turn to the mixed martial arts leader’s next pay-per-view offering, UFC 313 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The promotion was in Sydney, Australia this past week, where the Qudos Bank Arena played host to some intriguing matchups for its second numbered event of the new year. Of note […]

UFC 312 is in the books, meaning attention will soon turn to the mixed martial arts leader’s next pay-per-view offering, UFC 313 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The promotion was in Sydney, Australia this past week, where the Qudos Bank Arena played host to some intriguing matchups for its second numbered event of the new year. Of note were headline wins for Dricus Du Plessis and Zhang Weili, as well as victories for Tallison Teixeira and Jake Matthews.

While the aftermath of the Feb. 8 card is currently the talk of the town, it won’t be long until focus sways to the next PPV — and from the middleweight title picture to the light heavyweight championship conversation.

At UFC 313, set for the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on March 8, reigning kingpin Alex Pereira will open his account for the new year, once again in defense of his 205-pound gold. After consecutive victories over Jamahal Hill, Ji?í Procházka, and Khalil Rountree in 2024, the Brazilian will next meet the challenge of Magomed Ankalaev.

Gaethje vs. Hooker Sets The Stage For Title Headliner At UFC 313

Stakes will also be high in the co-headliner, as top lightweight contenders Justin Gaethje and Dan Hooker meet in a five-round battle that many expect to be in the conversation for Fight of the Year come the end of 2025.

And that’s not the only sure-fire barnburner at 155 pounds. Also slated to collide at UFC 313 is veteran King Green and surging Fighting Nerds prospect Mauricio Ruffy.

An important strawweight bout is also set, with former title challenger Amanda Lemos tasked with defending her position on the ladder against up-and-comer Iasmin Lucindo.

See below for the UFC 313 card, as it stands.

Alex Pereira (C) vs. Magomed Ankalaev (light heavyweight championship)
Justin Gaethje vs. Dan Hooker (lightweight)
Amanda Lemos vs. Iasmin Lucindo (women’s strawweight)
King Green vs. Mauricio Ruffy (lightweight)
Brunno Ferreira vs. Armen Petrosyan (middleweight)
Bruno Silva vs. Joshua Van (flyweight)
Alex Morono vs. Carlos Leal (welterweight)
Chris Gutierrez vs. Jean Matsumoto (bantamweight)
Ozzy Diaz vs. Djorden Santos (middleweight)
Mairon Santos vs. Francis Marshall (featherweight)

Best Buds Alex Pereira and Israel Adesanya Spotted Sitting Cageside at UFC 312

Bitter rivals turned best friends Alex Pereira and Israel Adesanya were spotted smiling and sitting cageside during Saturday’s UFC…

Bitter rivals turned best friends Alex Pereira and Israel Adesanya were spotted smiling and sitting cageside during Saturday’s UFC 312 pay-per-view event in Sydney.

After fighting four times across two different promotions, Pereira vs. Adesanya is considered by many to be one of the most fierce rivalries in combat sports history. But that’s all in the past as the former two-time middleweight titleholder and the reigning light heavyweight champion were spotted sitting together while taking in all the action at Qudos Bank Arena in The Land Down Under.

After going 2-0 against ‘The Last Stylebender’ under the GLORY Kickboxing banner, Pereira followed Adesanya to the world of mixed martial arts where they would pick up right where they left off at UFC 281. On that night, ‘Poatan’ shocked the world when he scored a fifth-round TKO, going three-up on the Adesanya and taking his 185-pound crown in the process.

Adesanya ultimately got his revenge five months later, catching the Brazilian boogeyman with an overhand right that rendered Pereira unconscious in the opening round of their UFC 287 rematch.

Alex Pereira and Izzy happy to put their rivalry aside … For now

Though there was still plenty of room for a trilogy fight between the two inside the Octagon, both fighters opted to move on from their rivalry. Adesanya stuck around in the middleweight division where he has since lost three in a row while Pereira has been stacking body at 205, earning KOs against Jamahal Hill, Jiri Prochazka, and Khalil Rountree during his 2024 campaign.

Perhaps we could still see Adesanya and ‘Poatan’ complete their threequel on MMA’s biggest stage someday, but for now, it looks like the former foes are happy to put their past behind them.

Watch Israel Adesanya Recite Alex Pereira’s Catchphrase While Sat Next To ‘Poatan’ At UFC 312

Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira have waged war plenty of times with one another between their time in kickboxing and MMA. But at UFC 312 in Australia, the longtime rivals appeared to be at peace, as the pair were sitting next to each other audience. After images emerged of the two stars seated together, a […]

After images emerged of the two stars seated together, a video showed Pereira flipping the camera to Adesanya, with the fellow former UFC middleweight champion calmly exclaiming, “Chama” — the catchphrase of the current UFC light heavyweight king.

Israel Adesanya, Alex Pereira Seated Next To One Another During UFC 312

Adesanya and Pereira fought twice in kickboxing. Pereira won both fights, once via decision and the other via knockout.

Pereira, who went on to win championships in GLORY Kickboxing, transitioned over to MMA full time and fought Adesanya twice there. Their first meeting came at UFC 281 in November 2022, with Pereira scoring a comeback fifth-round finish to win the UFC middleweight championship.

Adesanya finally scored a win and regained the title when he went on to knock out Pereira at UFC 287 five months later.

Their careers have gone in opposite directions since. Pereira has become the champion at 205 pounds, defeating the likes of Ji?í Procházka, Jamahal Hill, and Khalil Rountree. “The Last Stylebender,” meanwhile, dropped the middleweight title in upset fashion to Sean Strickland, failed to regain the belt against Dricus Du Plessis, and was knocked out by Nassourdine Imavov last week at UFC Saudi Arabia.

Australia Erupts for Alex Pereira at UFC 312 – Steals the Show and Didn’t Even Throw a Punch

Alex Pereira stole the show in Australia and he didn’t even have to throw a single punch. It’s safe…

Alex Pereira stole the show in Australia and he didn’t even have to throw a single punch.

It’s safe to say that Aussies absolutely love the reigning light heavyweight champion, as evidenced by their raucous ovation for ‘Poatan’ during one of his appearances while in Sydney for Saturday’s UFC 312 pay-per-view event at Qudos Bank Arena.

Alex Pereira to defend his light heavyweight title at UFC 313

Of course, Pereira won’t be in action at UFC 312, but fortunately, fight fans won’t have to wait long to see the Brazilian boogeyman back in action. On March 8, ‘Poatan’ will put his 205-pound title on the line when the promotion heads back to the familiar confines of T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas for a loaded UFC 313 card.

In the main event of the evening, Pereira will square off with top-ranked contender Magomed Ankalev.

8228766030 313 TMA Web 1320x560 513478efc4 1 4

Ankalaev has gone unbeaten in his last 13 fights with his last three victories coming against Anthony ‘Lionheart’ Smith, Johnny Walker, and Aleksandar Raki?. Overall, Ankalaev is 20-1-1 in his mixed martial arts career and 11-1-1 under the UFC banner, his lone loss coming against Paul Craig in 2018.

Pereira successfully defended his light heavyweight crown three times in 2024, besting Jamahal Hill and Jiri Prochazka a mere nine weeks apart before scoring a fourth-round TKO against Khalil Rountree at UFC 307 in Salt Lake City. The trio of title defenses moved his UFC record to 9-1.

Dricus Du Plessis Wants to Take the Title Off Alex Pereira: “Ultimately Be Seen as the Greatest”

Dricus Du Plessis plans on becoming the greatest fighter of all time, and he believes that accomplishing his goal…

Dricus Du Plessis plans on becoming the greatest fighter of all time, and he believes that accomplishing his goal means having to go through the current light heavyweight king, Alex Pereira.

But first, ‘Stillknocks’ has some work to do this Saturday in Sydney.

Emanating from the Qudos Bank Arena in Australia, Du Plessis is scheduled to put his 185-pound crown on the line in a highly anticipated rematch with ex-champion Sean Strickland at UFC 312.

468756476 1143276593829132 642327331946996902 n 1 819x1024 1

It will be Du Plessis’ second defense of the middleweight title, the first coming in August when he submitted Israel Adesanya in the fourth round of their UFC 305 headliner.

Du Plessis knows there’s still work to be done at 185

Speaking with McKenzie Pavacich of ESPN MMA, ‘DDP’ made it clear that his goal is to eventually move up and claim the light heavyweight title, but he knows that there is still a lot of work to be done at 185 before he can go asking for a shot at champ-champ status.

“I’m still quite a bit away from actually dominating the division and being in a place where there is no competition left,” Du Plessis said. “I also want to go up and get another belt and, ultimately, be seen as the greatest fighter to ever walk this earth. That is my ultimate goal, and that is what keeps me going.”

If Du Plessis comes out on top in The Land Down Under, he’ll move his record to 9-0 under the UFC banner while simultaneously going two-up on Strickland inside the Octagon.