UFC 313 went down this past weekend (Sat., March 8, 2025) inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, leaving several fighters feeling the post-fight blues. Among them was King Green, who was knocked out by Mauricio Ruffy and his spectacular spinning wheel kick (see it again here).
And Jalin Turner, who wound up retiring after he was submitted rather quickly by Ignacio Bahamondes. But, which fighter is suffering from the worst post-fight hangover, now a few days removed from the show?
Alex Pereira.
We never would’ve imagined “Poatan” ever appearing in this column. That’s because the Brazilian bruiser has made it a habit to win night-in, night-out, dominating both the Middleweight and Light Heavyweight divisions. But, eventually the sun has to set on an impressive run, and just like it did for all the other fighters who seemed unbeatable, it’s Pereira’s time to sulk a bit — or as much as he allows himself to.
Pereira has lost once before inside the Octagon, getting knocked out by Israel Adesanya in April 2023 (relive it here), though he bounced back rather impressively by rattling off five straight wins, capturing the 205-pound title and then defending it three times before running into Magomed Ankalaev in “Sin City,” who did enough to beat him on the judges scorecards.
And just like that, everything that “Poatan” was looking forward to in the 205-pound division went up in smoke … for now.
UFC CEO, Dana White, did hint at the possibility of Pereira facing the winner of Jon Jones and Tom Aspinall (assuming that fight ever gets made) in a Heavyweight title fight at UFC 313’s post-fight press conference (watch it here). The loss, though, iced those awesome plans. There was also talks about Pereira dropping back down to Middleweight to face Dricus du Plessis, though there is no telling if the promotion will allow him that option following his defeat, either.
But, the rightful thing is to give “Poatan” an instant rematch to try and win his belt back. After all, he has been nothing but a team player for the company since Day 1. He’s been fighting consistently, bailed out the promotion when it needed a headliner for UFC 300, and then turned right back around and defended the belt two more times after that in the span of six months.
It’s a funny thing, losing, because once a champion has a poor outing many are quick to call him out. During the post-fight presser, a reporter commented to White that the loss to Ankalaev showed that, “Alex is still pretty new in MMA” and that perhaps talk of a fight against Jones was a bit premature.
I don’t know when you’re not considered new anymore, but fighting professionally for a decade — four years with UFC — and winning titles in two separate divisions with one knockout after another highlighting his resume doesn’t seem all that “new” to me.
No one called Adesanya “new” when he moved up to Light Heavyweight in an attempt to become “champ champ” after competing as a pro for a decade as well, then going 9-0 inside the Octagon with one title under his belt. And let’s not forget, he was also calling out “Bones,” and not a peep was said about him not having enough credibility to fight him.
Selective memory, I suppose.
My point is, Pereira will be just fine and I do not foresee a drastic fall from grace like that of Max Holloway, Alexander Volkanovski or the aforementioned Adesanya. Should “Poatan” get his instant rematch and win the title, then everyone will once again sing his praises and call him one of the best ever.
It’s just the way this wild sport works.
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