Tag: UFC 313

Former UFC Champ Sounds the Alarm: Alex Pereira Is Taking a HUGE Risk at UFC 312

Former UFC Champ Sounds the Alarm: Alex Pereira Is Taking a HUGE Risk at UFC 312Alex Pereira is just a few weeks away from his toughest test yet under the UFC banner. On March…

Former UFC Champ Sounds the Alarm: Alex Pereira Is Taking a HUGE Risk at UFC 312

Alex Pereira is just a few weeks away from his toughest test yet under the UFC banner.

On March 8, ‘Poatan’ will step back inside the Octagon set to defend his light heavyweight championship for a fourth time. But unlike his previous opponents — Jamahal Hill, Jiri Prochazka, and Khalil Rountree — Pereira will be facing a fighter with both knockout power and world-class grappling.

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Magomed Ankalev, the 205-pound division’s top-ranked contender, has earned his spot in the UFC 313 headliner via an impressive 11-1-1 under the UFC banner and a streak that has seen him go unbeaten since September 2018. He’s also the man many believe holds to key to defeating ‘Poatan’ and ending the Brazilian boogeyman’s dominant reign at light heavyweight.

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‘The Count’ calls Pereira’s fight with Ankalaev at UFC 313 a ‘Risky move’

That list of people appears to include UFC Hall of Famer Michael Bisping who suggested that Pereira is taking a huge risk by fighting Ankalaev.

“DC thinks it’s a bad idea. I’ve got a theory on why he’s saying that,” Bisping said on his YouTube channel. “The reality is, for Alex Pereira, flying to the other side of the world just weeks before his title fight against Magomed Ankalaev, a guy many believe is his toughest matchup at 205, is a risky move. And I probably agree.

Daniel Cormier pointed out that once you go to Australia, you have to deal with jet lag, different food, and a disrupted training regimen. Those are all valid concerns. Meanwhile, the whole time Pereira is doing that, Magomed Ankalaev is working his ass off. Because if Pereira beats him, he cements his own legendary status. But every moment spent standing around with Sean Strickland and doing media, he’s not improving his game, he’s not working on takedown defense, and that could be a problem.

It should be noted that UFC 313 is taking place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, not Australia. Bisping was likely confusing next month’s pay-per-view with this Saturday’s in The Land Down Under which will see Dricus Du Plessis defend his middleweight strap against Sean Strickland in a main event rematch.

Even so, ‘The Count’ makes a strong point.

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Dricus Du Plessis Explains That Sean Strickland Isn’t There to Fight: “Threw a Jab and a Teep for Five Rounds.”

Dricus Du Plessis Explains That Sean Strickland Isn't There to Fight: "Threw a Jab and a Teep for Five Rounds."Sean Strickland may say he’s ready to fight to the death every time he steps inside the Octagon, but…

Dricus Du Plessis Explains That Sean Strickland Isn't There to Fight: "Threw a Jab and a Teep for Five Rounds."

Sean Strickland may say he’s ready to fight to the death every time he steps inside the Octagon, but he sure doesn’t fight like a guy ready to die.

After surrendering the middleweight world title a little more than a year ago, Strickland will look to reclaim the crown when he meets reigning champion Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 312 on February 8 in Sydney, Australia.

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The first time around, Strickland came up short on two of the three scorecards, suffering a closely contested split decision. The fight itself didn’t exactly set the world on fire — a frustrating reality considering the intense buildup and Strickland’s demand that he and the South African star go into the bout ready to “fight to the death.” Instead, Strickland stayed on his back foot for much of the fight, leaning on his jab to try and outpoint ‘DDP’ throughout the five-round affair.

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Recently, Strickland suggested that he and Du Plessis enter a pact ahead of their sequel scrap in The Land Down Under.

“I’m going to need you to be a f**king man and I’m gonna need you to stand up, not go to your knees, and we’re gonna need to f**king strike like men,” Strickland demanded in a video. “I know you like to wrestle, and you like to f**kng choke people out and do some gay s**t, dude but I’ll make a pact with you. You make a pact with me that we f**kng stand up like f**king men and we settle this s**t like men.’’

Du Plessis says Sean Strickland is there to defend, not fight

Du Plessis was quick to dismiss any such pact with Strickland and criticized ‘Tarzan’ for constantly talking a big game during the pre-fight festivities but failing to live up to the hype once he’s inside the cage.

“My response was clear. ‘There are no pacts between lions and men.’ That was my direct response,” Du Plessis said. “But you know, that was exactly what we did the last time,” Du Plessis said in an interview with Mark Bouris. “He said, ‘To death. Let’s go. Let’s fight to the death.’ And the man threw a jab and a teep for five rounds.

“In that—this is a stat, you can go check it—for 23 minutes, I went forward. He went forward for two minutes. That is a very clear indication of who’s there to fight and who’s there to defend.”

In their first meeting, Du Plessis landed six of 11 attempted takedowns but only notched two minutes of control time. Still, those takedowns are likely what swung the decision in favor of ‘DDP’ considering Strickland landed 36 more significant strikes during the contest.

Strickland also landed at a higher percentage, connecting with 42% of his shots while ‘DDP’ landed at a 38% clip.

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King Green Booked For First UFC Fight Since Brutal Submission Loss To Paddy Pimblett

King Green is set to make his first Octagon appearance of 2025 at UFC 313. According to a recent report by MMA Mania’s Alex Behunin, the formerly ranked veteran is slated to face rising prospect Mauricio Ruffy at UFC 313, which is set to take place on March 8 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las […]

King Green is set to make his first Octagon appearance of 2025 at UFC 313.

According to a recent report by MMA Mania’s Alex Behunin, the formerly ranked veteran is slated to face rising prospect Mauricio Ruffy at UFC 313, which is set to take place on March 8 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The Fighting Nerds member enters UFC 313 riding the momentum of two consecutive victories in 2024. His first triumph came in May at UFC 301, where he delivered a stunning first-round knockout against Jamie Mullarkey. He followed up this performance with a commanding unanimous decision win over James Llontop at UFC 309 in November.

Ruffy earned his UFC contract in spectacular fashion on Dana White’s Contender Series, delivering a third-round finish against Raimond Magomedaliev in October 2023. He is on a six-fight win streak, boasting a professional record of 11-1, with 10 of those victories coming by way of knockout.

On the other hand, Green is looking to bounce back from a first-round submission defeat to Paddy Pimblett at UFC 304 this past July, a setback that followed his unanimous decision victory over Jim Miller at UFC 300 in April. The 38-year-old American continues to search for consistency in the division, having secured just three wins in his last six outings.

UFC 313 is set to be a potential action-packed event, with reigning light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira defending his title against Magomed Ankalaev in the highly anticipated main event. The co-main attraction will feature former interim lightweight champion Justin Gaethje facing off against Dan Hooker in a five-round clash.

VIDEO: Alex Pereira Sharpens Grappling Skills Ahead Of Magomed Ankalaev Title Defense

Alex Pereira is smartly not taking Magomed Ankalaev’s previous comments as total fact. The two men are set to finally meet in the main event of UFC 313 on March 8 in Las Vegas in what many believe will be the defending champion’s toughest test to date. In recent times, Ankalaev has largely relied on […]

Alex Pereira is smartly not taking Magomed Ankalaev’s previous comments as total fact. The two men are set to finally meet in the main event of UFC 313 on March 8 in Las Vegas in what many believe will be the defending champion’s toughest test to date.

In recent times, Ankalaev has largely relied on his striking and whilst he hasn’t had a reason to abandon this approach because it has been working, everyone knows that he is a talented grappler even if he hasn’t shown that inside the Octagon for some time. In pursuing this fight with “Poatan”, the challenger has claimed that he is only going to stand and strike with Pereira which would seemingly put him at a disadvantage.

Pereira has accomplished incredible things since signing with the UFC in 2021 but what makes his success even more impressive is that he’s still playing catch-up to the opponents that he faces who will have vastly more experience than him both in the cage and in the MMA gym. In a recent clip posted on social media, fans got to see some insight into the evolution of the 205-pound champion.

The former Glory kickboxer recently spent some time training in Brazil alongside the Fighting Nerds team who have got some serious momentum behind them right now following star-making years for the likes of Jean Silva and Carlos Prates. The gym’s Instagram page posted a video of Pereira doing some grappling arounds alongside Geovanis Palacios who is a former Olympic wrestler for Cuba who has 7 MMA bouts under his belt.

Pereira is already a master striker so it makes sense that he would be continuing to put himself through the grappling ringer just in case Ankalaev decides to flip the script that he has wrote himself in Las Vegas.

Magomed Ankalaev Warns Alex Pereira He ‘Just Signed His Death Certificate’ After UFC 313 Title Fight Booking

Magomed Ankalaev is vowing to make Alex Pereira pay after their highly anticipated title fight was officially confirmed. Ankalaev is primed to challenge reigning light heavyweight champion Pereira in the main event of UFC 313, set to take place on March 8 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. For Ankalaev, his long-awaited second […]

Magomed Ankalaev is vowing to make Alex Pereira pay after their highly anticipated title fight was officially confirmed.

Ankalaev is primed to challenge reigning light heavyweight champion Pereira in the main event of UFC 313, set to take place on March 8 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

For Ankalaev, his long-awaited second title shot has been a journey months in the making, as he has been calling out “Poatan” ever since the Brazilian champion successfully defended his title against Ji?í Procházka at UFC 303 this past June. However, the MMA promotion took an unexpected turn by booking Khalil Rountree to face Pereira at UFC 307 in October, only adding to the Russian’s mounting frustration.

Subsequently, Ankalaev was matched up with Aleksandar Raki? at UFC 308, where he delivered a dominant performance to further cement his status as the top contender for the title. Pereira cheekily teased him on social media, suggesting he had other opponents in mind for his next challenge. This sparked a wave of speculation from several fans and even the former title challenger himself, with many claiming that “Poatan” was attempting to sidestep their inevitable showdown.

Following the announcement of their matchup during the UFC 311 broadcast this past weekend, Pereira took to X to deliver a message to his future opponent, writing, “See you soon, Ankalaev.”

Ankalaev wasted no time firing back at Pereira, issuing a menacing ultimatum and mocking his past as a tire shop worker. He vowed to make the 205-pound champion regret allegedly stalling their upcoming bout.

“You just signed your death certificate. I’m gonna punish you for ducking me, and I’m gonna make you look like a guy work in a tire shop not professional Fighter.” Ankalaev wrote on X.

The 32-year-old Dagestani further asserted that he is far better prepared for this bout than Pereira.

“Alex Pereira, he goes to all UFC fights to get free alcohol and get camera time. On the other hand, I’ve been training so hard. March 8, alcohol won’t help you. CHAMA.”

Ankalaev is on an impressive 13-fight unbeaten streak, having secured two victories last year. He contended for the vacant light heavyweight title against former champion Jan B?achowicz at UFC 282 in December 2022, which ultimately ended in a draw.

Meanwhile, Pereira enjoyed a remarkable 2024, successfully defending his title three times, with each victory punctuated by a spectacular knockout.

Magomed Ankalaev Warns Alex Pereira He ‘Just Signed His Death Certificate’ After UFC 313 Title Fight Booking

Magomed Ankalaev is vowing to make Alex Pereira pay after their highly anticipated title fight was officially confirmed. Ankalaev is primed to challenge reigning light heavyweight champion Pereira in the main event of UFC 313, set to take place on March 8 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. For Ankalaev, his long-awaited second […]

Magomed Ankalaev is vowing to make Alex Pereira pay after their highly anticipated title fight was officially confirmed.

Ankalaev is primed to challenge reigning light heavyweight champion Pereira in the main event of UFC 313, set to take place on March 8 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

For Ankalaev, his long-awaited second title shot has been a journey months in the making, as he has been calling out “Poatan” ever since the Brazilian champion successfully defended his title against Ji?í Procházka at UFC 303 this past June. However, the MMA promotion took an unexpected turn by booking Khalil Rountree to face Pereira at UFC 307 in October, only adding to the Russian’s mounting frustration.

Subsequently, Ankalaev was matched up with Aleksandar Raki? at UFC 308, where he delivered a dominant performance to further cement his status as the top contender for the title. Pereira cheekily teased him on social media, suggesting he had other opponents in mind for his next challenge. This sparked a wave of speculation from several fans and even the former title challenger himself, with many claiming that “Poatan” was attempting to sidestep their inevitable showdown.

Following the announcement of their matchup during the UFC 311 broadcast this past weekend, Pereira took to X to deliver a message to his future opponent, writing, “See you soon, Ankalaev.”

Ankalaev wasted no time firing back at Pereira, issuing a menacing ultimatum and mocking his past as a tire shop worker. He vowed to make the 205-pound champion regret allegedly stalling their upcoming bout.

“You just signed your death certificate. I’m gonna punish you for ducking me, and I’m gonna make you look like a guy work in a tire shop not professional Fighter.” Ankalaev wrote on X.

The 32-year-old Dagestani further asserted that he is far better prepared for this bout than Pereira.

“Alex Pereira, he goes to all UFC fights to get free alcohol and get camera time. On the other hand, I’ve been training so hard. March 8, alcohol won’t help you. CHAMA.”

Ankalaev is on an impressive 13-fight unbeaten streak, having secured two victories last year. He contended for the vacant light heavyweight title against former champion Jan B?achowicz at UFC 282 in December 2022, which ultimately ended in a draw.

Meanwhile, Pereira enjoyed a remarkable 2024, successfully defending his title three times, with each victory punctuated by a spectacular knockout.