He had huge ambitions if he defeated Magomed Ankalaev earlier this month, like UFC light-heavyweight Alex Pereira did.
“Poatan” only returned to the cage earlier this month in Las Vegas. Alex Pereira finally faced Magomed Ankalaev after returning for the first time since defeating Khalil Rountree Jr. via knockout last October. The Russian, who previously defeated Aleksandar Rakic in October of last year, came into the battle on a 14-fight winning streak. The Brazilian was candidly talking about upcoming fights with Jon Jones and even Oleksandr Usyk prior to the fight.
Additionally, both “Bones” and “The Cat” have expressed interest in going up against “Poatan” in the future. Unfortunately for the Brazilian, those intentions were dashed earlier this month when he lost to Ankalaev in a contentious judgment. The Russian defeated Alex Pereira via unanimous decision in the main event of UFC 313. Despite this, several online combatants and fans believed the winner had done enough to keep the gold.
The light-heavyweight broke his silence and talked about his defeat at UFC 313 when he appeared on The Ariel Helwani Show earlier today. Alex Pereira acknowledged there that he had a hand injury when he entered the cage, but he said it had no bearing on the fight. “Poatan” expressed some admiration for Magomed Ankalaev during the interview, saying he would not offer an explanation for the defeat.
Before losing at UFC 313, Alex Pereira discusses plans for a heavyweight transfer and a fight against Oleksandr Usyk
That does not, however, imply that Alex Pereira is not unhappy with the outcome. The Brazilian told Helwani that the fight with Ankalaev will probably be his final one at 205 pounds before he moves up in weight. Additionally, “Poatan” intended to request a boxing battle against Oleksandr Usyk, who was previously named. Unfortunately for Pereira, those plans will not now be realized.
“Maybe [I would’ve defended the belt]. But, if I could go and choose, my [next fight would’ve been] to fight in the heavyweight for the UFC, or [Oleksandr] Usyk in the boxing.” Alex Pereira stated through a translator to Helwani earlier today. “No [there were no talks about fighting Usyk.] No, [there weren’t talks about fighting Jon Jones or Tom Aspinall either]. Like I said, the reasonable next step would be my weight class, to defend [the belt].”
He continued, “My choice, I wouldn’t have defended the belt [again] after this fight. [I] would’ve gone to heavyweight for the UFC, or for the boxing. [I] wanted to move up. [My next fight] would’ve had to be a superfight, for a belt.”
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