The gloves have come off this week for Alex Pereira ahead of his rematch with Magomed Ankalaev.
Pereira (12-3 MMA, 9-2 UFC) is set to face Ankalaev (21-1-1 MMA, 12-1-1 UFC) in the main event of UFC 320, an immediate rematch after the Russian dethroned him to claim the UFC light heavyweight title at UFC 313 in March.
Known for his stoic demeanor throughout his UFC career, “Poatan” broke character this week when he unleashed an explosive rant in a video posted to his YouTube channel, accusing Ankalaev of hiding from him at the UFC Performance Institute in Las Vegas.
UFC Hall of Famer Rashad Evans says he loved seeing that fiery side of Pereira and believes it could help the former GLORY kickboxing champion reclaim his belt at T-Mobile Arena next week.
"I love that," Evans told Mike Bohn of MMA Junkie. "I'm glad that he's kind of reconnected to that savage part of himself. Because listen, this isn't a nice contest. Yeah, it's great, you can have respect for your opponent. But there has to be that part of you that is just an asshole, to say the least. You've got to be a savage in there. For him to tap back into that savagery, he's going to need to do that. He's going to need that. I'm glad he's feeling that way, and I'm glad that he's not liking him. Shake hands and be friends after the competition."
Pereira exploded onto the MMA scene after signing with the UFC in 2021. He was fast-tracked into a title shot at 185 pounds thanks to his rivalry with then-champion Israel Adesanya, which carried over from their GLORY kickboxing days.
After defeating “The Last Stylebender” to capture the middleweight belt — then losing it in an immediate rematch — Pereira moved up to light heavyweight, where he eventually claimed gold once again.
His loss to Ankalaev in March marked his sixth fight at 205 pounds in less than two years, and his fifth consecutive title fight. Evans believes that if the 38-year-old falls short against Ankalaev again next week, he may look to test himself in a third UFC weight class.
"This is a big fight for him because if he doesn't win this fight, then his next step, he's probably going to have to leave light heavyweight and go up to heavyweight," Evans said. "That would probably be the smartest move for him. I'm not saying that he can't beat Ankalaev. But two in a row with him, it would be a tough one to go forward. Especially at the age he's at right now. You don't want to give anybody their eulogy or anything like that when they are a great performer, but at the same time, if he doesn't win this fight, it's like, do we plan on doing?
"I'm going to go with Alex Pereira. I feel he's going to make the adjustments. I've got a lot of faith in his team. I think (Glover) Teixeira and Plinio (Cruz) are very good at making the adjustments that they need to. Alex, when I seen him last, he seems to be really locked in to doing what he needs to do in camp without the distractions and really just making sure he gets the training partners he needs to get. Fight from that place that he knows if he fights from that, he can win."
