Pereira Fandom

Alex Pereira has rapidly become one of the most popular fighters in the sport today.  As a two-division champion who fights often and delivers brutal finishes, he immediately became a fan favorite.  Heading into the fight against Magomed Ankalaev, Pereira’s fandom expressed full support for the now former champion.  While acknowledging that Ankalaev posed a tougher stylistic matchup than Pereira’s previous opponents, many still believed that Alex could secure the win.  People dismissed Ankalaev’s wrestling credentials, and generally downplayed his strength of schedule.  Conversely, some fans looked to downplay Pereira’s reign, asserting that the UFC deliberately avoided matching the two together.  They felt that Pereira would fold immediately upon facing a wrestler at Ankalaev’s level.  This fight thus polarized the fanbase more than almost any other in recent history.

Image – AP News

The Fight

The fight itself proved highly competitive throughout all five rounds.  Both fighters remained relatively reserved.  Impressively, Alex Pereira actually defended every takedown attempt throughout the fight.  However, Ankalaev in turn proved to be a significant threat on the feet.  He managed to avoid or mitigate almost all of Pereira’s most significant attacks.  In turn, he rocked Pereira badly in round 2, and aggressively weaponized the clinch.  Alex had some moments, but could never string together a sustained attack, ultimately losing a unanimous decision.

Reaction

After the fight, fans quickly expressed surprise at Pereira’s performance.  Compared to his string of exciting fights, his offense here seemed completely stifled.  But many fans and commentators have fixated excessively on Pereira’s shortcomings, rather than Ankalaev’s strengths.  The fact remains that Ankalaev was more skilled and fought more intelligently than any of Pereira’s previous light heavyweight opponents.  Jan Blachowicz and Khalil Rountree, for instance, both fatigued heavily in their fights against Alex.  Jiri Prochazka and Jamahal Hill both left themselves wide open to be hit.

Ankalaev stayed sharp with his defense and applied enough pressure to outscore Pereira.  Although Pereira possesses tremendous power, we cannot forget about Ankalaev’s own striking credentials.  He cleanly outstruck a top contender, Alexander Rakic, over three rounds.  Combined with his immense grappling advantage, this fight was always going to be a challenge for Pereira.  If anything, fans should be impressed by Pereira’s takedown defense.  Far less accomplished grapplers, such as Israel Adesanya and Jiri Prochazka, took Pereira down easily in the past.  For him to successfully stuff all of Ankalaev’s takedowns speaks volumes to Pereira’s dedication and Image – Ring Magazine                                                                            training.  Still, it was not quite enough for “Poatan” to come out on                                                                                                                               top this time.

Looking Ahead

Should these two fighters rematch in the future, fans should naturally adjust their expectations.  Favoring Ankalaev only makes sense when comparing him to Pereira’s previous opponents.  Of course, Alex is a special talent, and he can finish anyone on any given night.  But Ankalaev is likewise capable of finishing Pereira on the feet or the ground.  As with this fight, Pereira fans should continue to expect a difficult, competitive fight going forward.

Image – MMA Junkie