Tag: alex pereira

The Only UFC Fighter To Beat Magomed Ankalaev Says What Could Cost Him In A Fight With Alex Pereira

At UFC 308, Magomed Ankalaev seemingly cemented his status as the next man to challenge Alex Pereira for the light heavyweight title. Aside from one draw and a no contest, the Russian contender has won eleven fights in a row inside the Octagon and has waited a long time for his opportunity. In his latest […]

Continue Reading The Only UFC Fighter To Beat Magomed Ankalaev Says What Could Cost Him In A Fight With Alex Pereira at MMA News.

At UFC 308, Magomed Ankalaev seemingly cemented his status as the next man to challenge Alex Pereira for the light heavyweight title. Aside from one draw and a no contest, the Russian contender has won eleven fights in a row inside the Octagon and has waited a long time for his opportunity.

In his latest win in Abu Dhabi last month, he stuck to his word by standing and striking with Aleksandar Raki? for three rounds in order to prove a point about his well-rounded skill set. Ankalaev’s striking has certainly improved during his time in the UFC but there’s no denying that his grappling is still his strongest attribute, even if he doesn’t use it much.

Ankalaev’s one and only loss in the UFC came on his debut with the promotion where he faced Scotland’s Paul Craig in London. “Bearjew” was coming off of consecutive knockout losses at the time so needed a win in order to keep his UFC dream alive.

Despite being moments away from losing the fight, he incredibly pulled off a buzzer beater submission with just one second left on the clock, catching Ankalaev in a triangle choke. Ahead of his return at UFC 309 this weekend where he faces Bo Nickal at middleweight, Craig gave his thoughts on Ankalaev’s chances of becoming the champion in a recent interview with talkSPORT MMA.

Craig believes that his former foe is in a good position to dethrone “Poatan” but he cannot afford to go into this fight with the same stubbornness that will see him strike with the champion rather than utilizing his grappling.

“When you bring in someone like the Dagestanis who have incredible wrestling pressure and work ethic, it’s tough. Do I think Ankalaev can beat Pereira? I do believe he can. I believe he’s got all the credentials as long as he doesn’t go into this thing where he believes he’s a striker. You stand in front of someone with a kickboxing pedigree that Pereira has and I believe it can be a 50:50 lottery sometimes. Ankalaev, if he plays his skill set well and uses his wrestling and uses his striking to get in deep and out wrestle, I believe that’s how he can get that victory.”   

Continue Reading The Only UFC Fighter To Beat Magomed Ankalaev Says What Could Cost Him In A Fight With Alex Pereira at MMA News.

Jon Jones Open to Dropping UFC Heavyweight Title, Pitches Alex Pereira ‘BMF’ Fight

Ahead of his highly anticipated return to the Octagon at UFC 309 on Saturday, UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones revealed that he’d be willing to relinquish…

Ahead of his highly anticipated return to the Octagon at UFC 309 on Saturday, UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones revealed that he’d be willing to relinquish…

Jon Jones Picks Alex Pereira Over Tom Aspinall As Preferred Next Opponent

Jon Jones will defend his UFC heavyweight championship for the first time against Stipe Miocic at UFC 309. After winning the title against Ciryl Gane in March 2023, the newly crowned champion suffered a shoulder injury that delayed his fight with the former UFC heavyweight kingpin. While many fans are interested in watching two legends […]

Continue Reading Jon Jones Picks Alex Pereira Over Tom Aspinall As Preferred Next Opponent at MMA News.

Jon Jones will defend his UFC heavyweight championship for the first time against Stipe Miocic at UFC 309. After winning the title against Ciryl Gane in March 2023, the newly crowned champion suffered a shoulder injury that delayed his fight with the former UFC heavyweight kingpin.

While many fans are interested in watching two legends face each other before they hang up their gloves, others simply want the UFC heavyweight division to move forward. Tom Aspinall has defended his interim UFC heavyweight belt once and has finished most top contenders in the first round.

Jones is a considerable favorite against Miocic, and while he’s teased retirement in the past, he discussed potential future opponents during an interview on the Kevin Iole YouTube channel.

“Tom Aspinall, is, I don’t want to say nobody but, he just hasn’t proven anything. He hasn’t done anything and I understand that, I mean he won his belt against Sergei. Sergei just got slaughtered by someone else, so, it’s just like, I’m not here to gamble someone else making a name off of me,” He continued. “A guy that’s still on our UFC roster that would be, not only financially worth it, but, legacy worth it, would be Alex Pereira.”

When asked if he would fight Aspinall after beating Miocic, Jones outright rejected the current interim UFC heavyweight champion. He compared the English heavyweight to Johnny Walker, who many thought could dethrone “Bones” at light heavyweight.

“Bones” mentioned that he’s accepted a fair amount of risky fights back in the day, and he now only expects an opponent that makes sense to him financially and legacy-wise. On these grounds, he named Alex Pereira a more exciting fight than Aspinall.

Unsurprisingly, “Bones” is being called out for not giving any credit at all to an interim champion with a title defense. That said, it’s hard to speculate on the future of the heavyweight division accurately until the UFC 309 main event concludes.

Continue Reading Jon Jones Picks Alex Pereira Over Tom Aspinall As Preferred Next Opponent at MMA News.

Khalil Rountree Reveals Latest Image Of Facial Injuries Suffered At The Hands Of Alex Pereira

UFC light heavyweight contender Khalil Rountree is still sporting the wounds of what a war with champion Alex Pereira will bring. Rountree had his first title opportunity on mixed martial arts’ biggest stage early last month in Salt Lake City, Utah, where he headlined the UFC 307 pay-per-view in competition for Pereira’s 205-pound strap. While […]

Continue Reading Khalil Rountree Reveals Latest Image Of Facial Injuries Suffered At The Hands Of Alex Pereira at MMA News.

UFC light heavyweight contender Khalil Rountree is still sporting the wounds of what a war with champion Alex Pereira will bring.

Rountree had his first title opportunity on mixed martial arts’ biggest stage early last month in Salt Lake City, Utah, where he headlined the UFC 307 pay-per-view in competition for Pereira’s 205-pound strap.

While his shot came as a surprise to many given his position in the rankings, “The War Horse” rode a wave of confidence into the chance for glory owing to a destructive five-fight win streak.

And against the odds and expectations of many, the challenger got off to a strong start and was on track to extending that run with the addition of some gold.

But Rountree’s early lead was quickly pulled back in the third frame as “Poatan” began to find a home for his strikes. In the fourth, the show was closed by a brutal onslaught from the Brazilian that left his American opponent bloodied and bruised.

Rountree wasn’t short on gruesome battle scars in the aftermath, with the worst injury being a severely deviated septum that required a painful procedure to fix.

And almost exactly a month on from his setback in the “Beehive State,” the 34-year-old has provided the latest update on his condition, posting an image on Instagram of the scars that remain on his nose and around his eyes.

While he ultimately did not leave the Octagon with the light heavyweight title wrapped around his waist, it certainly seemed that Rountree boosted his stock among the MMA masses with a valiant display at the Delta Center.

He’ll look to build on that with a return to winning ways in his return. Pereira, meanwhile, appears likely to meet the challenge of Magomed Ankalaev in his fourth defense of the 205-pound championship next year.

Continue Reading Khalil Rountree Reveals Latest Image Of Facial Injuries Suffered At The Hands Of Alex Pereira at MMA News.

‘He Knows How to Give Up’ – Magomed Ankalaev Mocks Alex Pereira with Brutal Compilation of His Losses

'He Knows How to Give Up’ - Magomed Ankalaev Mocks Alex Pereira with Brutal Compilation of His LossesAhead of their rumored light heavyweight title clash, Magomed Ankalaev shared a compilation of Alex Pereira’s losses. With Belal…

'He Knows How to Give Up’ - Magomed Ankalaev Mocks Alex Pereira with Brutal Compilation of His Losses

Ahead of their rumored light heavyweight title clash, Magomed Ankalaev shared a compilation of Alex Pereira’s losses.

With Belal Muhammad no longer expected to defend his welterweight title against Shavkat Rakhmonov at UFC 310 on December 7, everyone seemingly expects ‘Poatan’ to step up and save yet another fight card. If that proves to be the case, the Brazilian boogeyman will likely be tasked with taking out the division’s top-ranked contender, Magomed Ankalaev.

Coming off a big win over Aleksandar Rakic at UFC 308 in Abu Dhabi, Ankalaev is more than ready to make the quick turnaround if it means finally getting another shot at the light heavyweight championship.

Magomed Ankalaev

No official announcements have been made by the UFC, but the Dagestani star is already hard at work trolling ‘Poatan’ on social media via a video collecting some of Pereira’s losses from his GLORY Kickboxing days.

“[Alex] lost 10 times when I beat him,” Ankalaev wrote in a post on X. “This is gonna be something very normal for him. He’s a good loser and I’ll make it easy. For him he know how to give up.”

Magomed Ankalaev keeps the fiery posts coming

It’s certainly not the first time Ankalaev has slammed the two-division champion. On Sunday, he promised to “punish” Pereira in their inevitable showdown and even slammed ‘Poatan’ for taking short-notice opportunities against everyone except him.

Magomed Ankalaev

“I promise all my friends I’m going to punish this guy I will knock him out Inshallah,” Ankalaev added.

Magomed Ankalaev

“Willing to fight everyone short notice but with me, he knows he have to be ready he’s not stupid,” Ankalaev continued.

Ankalaev is 20-1-1 in his mixed martial arts career with his lone loss coming against Paul Craig during his UFC debut in March 2018. Since then, he has won 11 fights inside the Octagon with one no-contest and a draw coming against Jan Blachowicz when the two met at UFC 282 for the vacant 205-pound title.

UFC Champ Alex Pereira Embraces his Heritage and Celebrates His Pataxó Legacy in Ceremony

UFC Champ Alex Pereira Embraces his Heritage and Celebrates His Pataxó Legacy in CeremonyThe UFC light heavyweight champion ‘Poaton’ Alex Pereira recently participated in an indigenous ceremony with his Pataxó tribe in…

UFC Champ Alex Pereira Embraces his Heritage and Celebrates His Pataxó Legacy in Ceremony

The UFC light heavyweight champion ‘Poaton’ Alex Pereira recently participated in an indigenous ceremony with his Pataxó tribe in Brazil. The event took place shortly after Pereira’s knockout victory over Khalil Rountree Jr. at UFC 307.

Alex Pereira Pataxó

During the ceremony, Alex Pereira joined in ritual dances and blessings, paying homage to his indigenous heritage. Photos and videos shared on social media showed the champion proudly displaying his Indigenous identity alongside fellow tribe members.

This celebration of Alex Pereira’s roots comes at a time when he is still recovering from a hand injury sustained during his title defense against Rountree Jr. Pereira’s connection to his Pataxó heritage runs deep. In 2014, before his MMA career began, he was introduced to Ubiranan, the leader of the Pataxó people. Since then, Pereira has consistently represented his Indigenous community in his professional fights, either through clothing or face paint.

What Tribe is Alex Pereira From Pataxo

Interestingly, Ubiranan had predicted Pereira’s success in the UFC when they first met. The Pataxó chieftain told MMA Fighting that he had foreseen Pereira becoming a world champion and gaining national recognition. Ubiranan even expressed his belief that Pereira could potentially become a heavyweight champion in the future.

He even predicted that ‘Poatan’ would lose his second title match against Israel Adesanya.

“When we met I told him he would become world champion, and the whole country would know him,” Ubiranan said. “He has the support of every indigenous. We are more than 300 indigenous groups and almost a million indigenous men and women. Every tribe knows him. He’s in the United States now, but we’re always in touch, sending him good energy” [Ht MMAFighting]

What Tribe is Alex Pereira From Pataxó