Alex Pereira dropped his light heavyweight strap to Magomed Ankalaev in the UFC 313 pay-per-view (PPV) main event last weekend in Las Vegas, a five-round performance that saw the Brazilian stuck in first gear for most of the fight.
Consider it the “worst-case scenario.”
Credit to Ankalaev for shutting down the power-punching “Poatan.” But in the days following their championship title fight, Pereira faced criticism for his part-time training schedule, sandwiched between his never-ending professional commitments.
“I think we did an excellent job, not just this fight, we’ve been evolving a lot,” Pereira said in his latest YouTube video. “It’s not a result I was expecting, I was very confident for this fight. I was good for the fight, no excuses. Some things happened but I don’t want to give excuses. I know there will be a rematch, they’re talking about it already. Everything I did, the way the fight was, a lot of people had their doubts. I still haven’t watched the fight, I’ll watch the fight and I will have my opinions.”
Sounds like his critics already have their opinions.
“When we’re in there it’s hard to see what happens, but I’ll watch it from the outside and have my opinion,” Pereira continued. “I’m going to rest now, I have some traveling to do. As always, commitments. I’ll return to training soon and adjust a few things, see where I can do better. I can always do better, we’re always learning. Thank you for the support from all of you. I value that a lot, thank you. Chama.”
Perhaps Pereira just needs a less “insane” fight schedule.
“Pereira fights way too often,” former UFC bantamweight champion, Aljamain Sterling, said on his YouTube channel. “Three title defenses in seven months. That is insanity to do that, and it’s not like his fights were pitter-patter fights. You could say that Jamahal Hill one was no damage. Okay, cool, I understand that. The Jiri one, he took some damage in that. Then the Khalil Rountree fight was a big fight where he took some good shots.”
Pereira, 37, has competed 10 times for UFC in less than three years.
“You go from that, add on to the fact that he bounces back from these fights and he goes right back into the gym almost one, maybe two weeks later,” Sterling continued. “You compound that with the amount of times that he’s sparring. When does Pereira give himself, his body, and his brain, and his chin a chance to take a break and just recover? I don’t think he gives himself enough time in between fights to give the best version of himself every single time.”
But that’s why people love him, according to UFC CEO, Dana White.
The promotion will “probably” book Ankalaev vs. Pereira 2 for later this year, but it remains to be seen how much time “Poatan” will spend training as he wraps up his latest round of “commitments.” Until then, the 205-pound title wheel will continue to spin.
