Stoic yet stunning, Alex Pereira is already a bona fide legend in his relatively short UFC competition tenure. Subsequently, the light-heavyweight champ seems unfazed by whatever is up in Abu Dhabi right now. Damned be the UFC 308 pay-per-view (PPV) fallout. Pereira already made highlights at UFC 300, 303, and UFC 307. For him, Mexico is where the action is! ‘Poatan’ just took in F1 racing in Mexico.
Pereira and coach Plinio Cruz hit up the F1 Grand Prix of Mexico—qualifying grandstands recently. The Team Teixeira MMA & Fitness fighter and his associates dapped it up with Valtteri Bottas, Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber, and others. The Brazilian and coach Cruz even visited some Lucha Libre action ringside in Mexico. During his pit visit, Pereira did a callback to his viral emote yet again.
Yes – that viral emote. Old K1 Kickboxing rival Israel Adesanya is who prompted his move to MMA grounds in 2021. Izzy often mocked him for being that “guy he beat one time” who followed suit. Fueled by that, he went on to become a brand-value dual-division champion. Adesanya has often kept on the disses on Alex. So when he got to starch out Jamhal Hill at the milestone UFC 300 PPV in April, he got a diss in, aimed at the Nigerian-Kiwi.
The emote comes from internet personality Khaby Lame as a sign of satire; Izzy did a collab with him just months back at UFC 300. Since then, the emote has gone quite viral. Now, No. 1 seed to light-heavyweight gold Magomed Ankalaev has called him out again at UFC 308. However, Pereira is seemingly enjoying life while recreating emotes in callbacks. Question arises: Will he ever answer the call or just wait for the next in line?
Is the UFC protecting champion Alex Pereira? Magomed Ankalaev thinks so after UFC 308 win
Magomed Ankalaev has been chomping at the bit for his shot at UFC light heavyweight champion Alex ‘Poatan’ Pereira. He may have finally gotten his shot to fight for the UFC Championship after UFC 308. Unbeaten in his last 13 fights, Ankalaev outlasted Aleksandar Rakic (14-5 MMA, 6-4 UFC) to win a unanimous decision on Saturday’s main card (ESPN+ pay-per-view) at the Etihad Arena.
UFC CEO Dana White had stipulated that if he won at UFC 308, he’d have his chance. Now, while Pereira attends F1 Racing media availability in Mexico, the bossman agrees that said chances are looking good. It’s almost two years since Ankalaev fought Jan Blachowicz for the vacant 205-pound title. They fought to a draw, and the spot remained vacant.
The Russian Orthodox has been on the cusp of title road and the road back. But now that he is almost at reach, he thinks UFC will be at its busiest to save the ‘golden goose’ Pereira.
I think he’s being protected, …I’m not sure why the UFC is doing it. I think they’re protecting him. We know that he’s an exciting fighter. We know that he fights in the standup. He’s a great striker. So I think that they’re just saving him, protecting him.
Magomed Ankalaev during UFC 308 pay-per-view (PPV) post-fight backstage interviews
Many fight analysts and fans said as much over the last few months. Instead of the top No. 1 contender, #8 light-heavyweight seed Khalil Rountree Jr. recently faced Pereria. Many postulate that this was to give brand-value champ Pereira a better chance in a striker-vs-striker fest than a wrestler like Ankalaev.
Pereira, a former middleweight champ, is also being linked with a move up to heavyweight in a bid for a historic third belt. If that were to happen ahead of a potential fight with Ankalaev, he believes that it would speak volumes.
