Tag: alex pereira

‘Ain’t Beating Pereira’ – Fans React As Magomed Ankalaev Outpoints Aleksandar Raki? At UFC 308

Is Magomed Ankalaev next in line to face Alex Pereira for the light heavyweight title? That’s what the question is following his victory over Aleksandar Raki? at UFC 308. The first round saw plenty of leg kick trading, with Raki? using his attacks to pile on damage to Ankalaev’s lower body. The Russian, however, slowly […]

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Is Magomed Ankalaev next in line to face Alex Pereira for the light heavyweight title? That’s what the question is following his victory over Aleksandar Raki? at UFC 308.

The first round saw plenty of leg kick trading, with Raki? using his attacks to pile on damage to Ankalaev’s lower body. The Russian, however, slowly found success with the left hand, and that extended into the second round. In another close round, Ankalaev’s left hand proved to be a powerful weapon, with “Rocket” seemingly troubled by its attack toward his body.

Ankalaev continued to find success, while Raki? sought for a takedown in the third round and hoped to play things safe — after his corner controversially told him he was up two rounds.

The Austrian’s team may have been shocked (unlike plenty of others) then to find out the judges all gave 29-28 nods to Ankalaev.

Magomed Ankalev Gets Decision Win At UFC 308, Tells Alex Pereira To ‘Stop Running’

The top contender is unbeaten since dropping his UFC debut in 2018. He came into this fight off a brutal knockout of Johnny Walker in January.

Raki?, meanwhile, has now lost three straight, which also includes a TKO loss to former champion Ji?í Procházka at UFC 300.

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UFC Veteran: Jon Jones vs. Alex Pereira ‘Could Be As Big’ As A McGregor Fight

A recently retired UFC fighter believes the promotion could cash in big time by having reigning light heavyweight kingpin Alex Pereira challenge his heavyweight counterpart, Jon Jones. The possibility of Jones facing Pereira was barely a topic when the former debuted at heavyweight by winning the then-vacant title back in March 2023. At the time, […]

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A recently retired UFC fighter believes the promotion could cash in big time by having reigning light heavyweight kingpin Alex Pereira challenge his heavyweight counterpart, Jon Jones.

The possibility of Jones facing Pereira was barely a topic when the former debuted at heavyweight by winning the then-vacant title back in March 2023. At the time, “Poatan” occupied the throne at 185 pounds.

But since the end of his middleweight reign the following month, Pereira has moved up to light heavyweight and marked himself as one of the promotion’s leading stars by achieving two-division glory.

And a string of three straight title defenses in 2023 has left many calling for the Brazilian kickboxing specialist to move up again in pursuit of a historic achievement — championship glory in three separate weight classes.

Though Pereira was dismissive of an immediate heavyweight jump in the aftermath of his victory over Khalil Rountree at UFC 307 earlier this month, many are hoping for the promotion to push for it should Jones keep hold of his gold beyond next month’s Madison Square Garden event.

During a recent episode of MMA Fighting’s The Fighter vs. The Writer podcast, former UFC welterweight Matt Brown touched on the topic and was firm in his belief when it comes to the magnitude of the potential clash.

“I don’t doubt this could be as big as any Conor fight,” Brown said. “This could be promoted to the max. They could do it (International) Fight Week or one of the gigantic cards maybe at the Sphere, something crazy. This could be enormous. Jon’s a smart guy. He’s here for the money now, I think. Legacy and money and Alex is going to bring that. It could be promoted as much as you want to promote. This could be the money fight. It’s heavyweight, too. Heavyweight fights always bring a stigma to them that those lighter fights just don’t bring.

“Conor obviously brought the trash talk and all the antics, the funny stuff and the cool stuff, there’s a certain aura when Conor comes into the cage,” Brown continued. “But there’s a different aura that can be sold here when Jon Jones, the greatest of all-time, who just beat the greatest heavyweight of all-time — assuming that happens — fighting another guy trying to do the biggest thing of all-time, (become) a three-weight world champion. I can’t think of a bigger fight outside of Conor, but I think it could be as big as any Conor fight.”

The bout has evidently been discussed internally, with UFC CEO Dana White revealing earlier this year that color commentator Joe Rogan has been pushing for “Poatan” and “Bones” to be matched up.

For the time being, Jones has his focus on the returning Stipe Miocic at UFC 309. Beyond that, most believe any continued stay in the sport as an active fighter should see him unify the heavyweight title against Aspinall.

But perhaps the UFC would share Brown’s view on the draw of Jones vs. Pereira instead.

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Conor McGregor’s $500K Bet Against Ngannou Fails: “I’ll Get That Back,” Says Confident Conor

Conor McGregor’s $500K Bet Against Ngannou Fails: "I'll Get That Back," Says Confident ConorConor McGregor is determined to bounce back after dropping 500k on Ngannou to lose by knockout. Ahead of the…

Conor McGregor’s $500K Bet Against Ngannou Fails: "I'll Get That Back," Says Confident Conor

Conor McGregor is determined to bounce back after dropping 500k on Ngannou to lose by knockout.

Ahead of the former UFC heavyweight champion’s PFL debut on Saturday night in Riyadh, ‘Mystic Mac’ placed a half-million dollar bet on Ngannou’s opponent, Renan Ferreira, to win the ‘Battle of the Giants’ headliner via KO.

“The Mac is back with his winning bets. I have a 100% winning ratio on these bets. Ngannou is losing by KO tonight. 12/5 the Brazilian is to knock him out and I’m putting half a million on it and I’m going to win back $1.7million. That’s it. It’s a ruthless business and I’m a ruthless man,” McGregor said in a voice note on X.

Unfortunately for McGregor, things didn’t play out how he’d hoped.

Ngannou pummeled Ferreira for three and a half minutes before the referee finally stepped in and called for the stoppage, handing ‘The Predator’ his first win in mixed martial arts since his lone UFC title defense against Ciryl Gane in January 2022.

Conor McGregor reacts to 500k loss

Reacting to the loss, McGregor made it clear that he wasn’t sweating the $500,000 and that he’d get every dollar back before long.

Conor McGregor

“THE RICH GET RICHER I’LL GET THAT BACK,” McGregor wrote in a since-deleted post.

Earlier this month, McGregor banked $1.2 million on Alex Pereira’s successful title defense against Khalil Rountree at UFC 307 to end via knockout. ‘Poatan’ finished ‘The War Horse’ in the waning moments of the fourth round. It was Pereira’s third defense of the middleweight strap in 2024, the first two coming against Jamahal Hill at UFC 300 and Jiri Prochazka at UFC 303.

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Bisping: Alex Pereira Convincing UFC To Sign His Former Rival Speaks Volumes

Usually it’s up the UFC matchmakers or Dana White himself to decide which talent they want to bring into the promotion. At the Apex this past Tuesday night on another episode of Contender Series, it was the promotion’s light heavyweight champion that helped make this call. Alex Pereira told White why he should sign his […]

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Usually it’s up the UFC matchmakers or Dana White himself to decide which talent they want to bring into the promotion. At the Apex this past Tuesday night on another episode of Contender Series, it was the promotion’s light heavyweight champion that helped make this call.

Alex Pereira told White why he should sign his former kickboxing rival Artem Vakhitov despite the fact that he delivered a performance that wasn’t overly impressive. The elite striker did get the first round finish but he didn’t exactly blow the roof off the place either.

“Poatan” jokingly remarked to his former opponent in a video that was posted on social media that Vakhitov now owes him one.

Michael Bisping Gives Credit To Alex Pereira For Pushing UFC To Sign Artem Vakhitov

Michael Bisping, who was on commentary for this episode of Contender Series, gave his thoughts on the situation in a recent YouTube video. He said that what Pereira did at the Apex shows exactly the kind of competitor that he is.

Though Vakhitov is a long way away from getting a shot at the light heavyweight title, his history with Pereira as the last man to beat the Brazilian star in kickboxing is exactly why he’s there in the first place.

Bisping said it should be commended how Pereira could have easily dismissed his previous opponent, knowing that he could be a threat to him at some stage. The former UFC middleweight champion also pointed out that this could be Pereira being motivated by revenge.

“The fact that Dana asked him, ‘Hey, this guys who’s the last person to beat you,’ that might get kind of fast tracked a little bit, that might possibly get decent favorable match-ups to meet you because there’s a big storyline and he was the last person to beat you and if he stands and trades with you and plays you at your own game, he might take the title off you. Pereira could have said, ‘well it wasn’t that good was it really, I expected more.’ He could have played down the performance but no, he said he absolutely deserves a shot, gibe him a shot. I’m telling you right, that not only speaks about the type of man that he is but it also speaks about the type of competitor that he is.”

Continue Reading Bisping: Alex Pereira Convincing UFC To Sign His Former Rival Speaks Volumes at MMA News.

Michael Bisping Explains Artem Vakhitov Likely Will Compete for UFC Gold Against Alex Pereira

Michael Bisping Explains Artem Vakhitov Likely Will Compete for UFC Gold Against Alex PereiraMichael Bisping thinks it’s just a matter of time before new UFC signee Artem Vakhitov is challenging Alex Pereira…

Michael Bisping Explains Artem Vakhitov Likely Will Compete for UFC Gold Against Alex Pereira

Michael Bisping thinks it’s just a matter of time before new UFC signee Artem Vakhitov is challenging Alex Pereira for the light heavyweight title.

Vakhitov earned a contract with the UFC following a big first-round knockout against Islem Masraf on Tuesday’s episode of Dana White’s Contender Series.

Artem Vakhitov

Before making the move to MMA last year, Vakhitov was a former GLORY Kickboxing champion and just so happens to be the last man to have beaten Pereira in the sport before ‘Poatan’ moved onto mixed martial arts.

If the story sounds familiar, don’t be surprised. Pereira fought two-time UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya under the GLORY banner twice and brutally KO’d the ‘Stylebender’ in their second encounter. Adesanya moved on to MMA months later.

Artem Vakhitov

With history seemingly repeating itself, Bisping thinks it’s just a matter of time before Vakhitov works his way up the ranks and challenges Pereira for UFC gold.

“ I think he could do it, I think he’s got the potential” Bisping said on his YouTube channel. “He’s got to work on the takedown defense. he’s got to get used to the little gloves. he’s got to get used to people with offbeat rhythms because MMA strikers are a bit different to polished kickboxers but if he can do that.

“If he can do the work and apply himself, I think he could have a very bright future and we could see that fight at some point down the line.” 

Bisping sees the UFC pushing Artem Vakhitov the same way they pushed alex pereira

Like they did with Pereira, Bisping expects the UFC to push Vakhitov fast. Poatan’ infamously earned his first title opportunity after just three fights inside the Octagon.

If Vakhitov can string together a few impressive wins, it’s safe to assume that the promotion will try and wedge him into the title picture and capitalize on the built-in story between the two heavy hitters.

“It’s going to be interesting to see who they match him up with first,” Bisping continued. “But if he goes on, let’s say, a four-or five-fight streak, where he goes out and he knocks people out, then of course there’s a big fight on our hands, and I’m sure Alex Pereira the whole time is going to be willing him on because he wants to get him back. He wants to make money.”

Artem Vakhitov

Khalil Rountree Jr. on McGregor’s Post-Fight Support and Tactical Advice After Pereira Loss

Khalil Rountree Jr. on McGregor’s Post-Fight Support and Tactical Advice After Pereira LossKhalil Rountree received praise and some tactical advice from Irish megastar Conor McGregor following Saturday’s pay-per-view event in Salt…

Khalil Rountree Jr. on McGregor’s Post-Fight Support and Tactical Advice After Pereira Loss

Khalil Rountree received praise and some tactical advice from Irish megastar Conor McGregor following Saturday’s pay-per-view event in Salt Lake City.

Rountree went toe-to-toe with UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira for nearly four rounds before falling to the ‘Brazilian Boogeyman’ in a most brutal fashion. Still, ‘The War Horse’ received immense praise from fighters and fans for holding his own and tagging Pereira with a few big strikes throughout the entertaining affair.

Khalil Rountree

Appearing on the Pound 4 Pound podcast with Kamaru Usman and Henry Cejudo, Rountree revealed that McGregor had reached out to him following the fight to offer some kind words and a little bit of advice on what he could have done differently against Pereira.

“I still haven’t watched the fight, as a whole, since it happened, but I did get… It was really nice,” Rountree said. “A couple of days after the fight, I got some messages from Conor and it was really cool to get some messages from him, but one thing that he pointed out was that I could have put more pressure.

“Just like you were saying, when he was going up against the cage, yeah, he has that left hook, but if I would have been just a little bit more relentless with my pressure and not backed off so much and retook the center of the cage, I think I would have been able to apply a little bit more damage to him. So, I think if I were to go back and replay this fight, I’d probably just be a little bit more aggressive, like smart aggressive.”

Khalil Rountree’s stock goes up with strong showing against Alex Pereira

Up until the finish, Rountree was actually winning the fight on all three judges’ scorecards.

Through the first three rounds, Pereira had landed more strikes and did so at a higher percentage clip, but it was Rountree who was landing the more impactful shots, including a well-timed hook in the second round that nearly put ‘Poatan’ on the mat.

Khalil Rountree

Despite losing the fight, there’s no doubt that Rountree’s stock has gone up significantly and one or two more wins in the division could very well earn him another crack at Pereira. Until then, ‘The War Horse’ is setting his sights on a scrap with former light heavyweight titleholder Jamahal Hill.

Khalil Rountree