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If Alex Pereira seemed a bit hesitant to throw and tired in his UFC 313 fight against Magomed Ankalaev to you, Joe Rogan may have an explanation as to why.
Pereira lost his light heavyweight title to Ankalaev via unanimous decision earlier this month in Las Vegas. According to “Poatan” fans, it was a pretty lackluster fight. Pereira just seemed unable to get out of first gear and spent the entire bout on the backfoot getting little more than ineffective calf kicks off for five rounds.
The reason? According to UFC commentator and podcaster Joe Rogan, Pereira was dealing with all sorts of issues that night.
“They say he fought with a broken hand and norovirus against Ankalaev,” Rogan said during a UFC London Fight Companion podcast. “He fought with a broken toe before. When he beat Jiri Prochazka, he had a f—ed up knee … He was basically fighting on one leg in the first fight.”
Pereira can’t seem to step into the cage lately without having serious issues. He pressed through weeks of fever, antibiotics, an injured rib, and janked up toes to beat Khalil Rountree. Now he’s fighting Ankalaev with a broken hand and norovirus?
Rogan gave Ankalaev some credit for his effective gameplan.
“I saw a good breakdown of Ankalaev’s stand up against Pereira, it was very high level, super impressive,” Joe said. “Especially taking away the front hand, doing the circular motion and taking away angles.”
“They’re gonna run it back, I’m sure,” he added. “They have to. That’s the big fight in that division. And if Pereira can come in healthy … He’s too active. But he’s smart too, because he’s 36, 37. He’s like, ‘I gotta go, man. I gotta make as much money as possible.’ He’s done that. He’s become an all time great in three years, which is crazy.”
While Pereira and Ankalaev have teased a rematch for August, there’s no official word from the UFC as to when the two could meet again. Here’s hoping with a longer than typical layoff, Pereira can get his body close to 100% for the rematch. And maybe he will spend a bit more time in his home gym training rather than traveling the world.
