Alex Pereira addresses Magomed Ankalaev's knockout promise in potential clash: "I'm in the process of evolution"
With two victories and as many title defenses of his light heavyweight throne registered, Alex Pereira is already sizing up his next options for a return. Staying active in competition has almost become second nature for the Brazilian who wants to keep the ball rolling with another fight this year.
UFC color commentator Joe Rogan is seemingly guiding the push for the fans' appetite for a Pereira fight in the heavyweight division. However, UFC CEO Dana White contends 'Poatan' has some fights left in the 205-pound division to validate the jump to the heavyweight division. Correspondingly, some fans and MMA experts believe No.2 ranked Magomed Ankalaev will pose stylistic problems for Periera.
The Russian issued a challenge to Pereira following his second-round TKO victory over Jiri Prochazka at UFC 303. The grappling specialist even asserted that the Brazilian has been fighting contenders with "no chin" and seemingly promised a standup battle.
Pereira posted a video on Instagram responding to Ankalaev's claims and said:
"You guys saw, a lot of people trying to self-promote. Trying to belittle me, saying they will knock me out, finish me... but I'm training, evolving... I just started evolving now, that's the difference. [I was] able to go toe to toe with just kickboxing. Now I'm evolving, so each fight it's getting harder for them."
Check out Pereira's comments below:
To his credit, constant evolution has been noticeable in his career trajectory ever since he turned professional in October 2015. Pereira made his UFC debut in November 2021 at UFC 268. Since then, he has already competed nine times across two divisions under the UFC banner, with distinguished honors of achieving two-division champion status in the shortest time and fewest bouts in the organization's history.
Kamaru Usman questions Alex Pereira's spot on the pound-for-pound ladder
The debate surrounding pound-for-pound status has become a hotspot of contention in the MMA community of late.
Alex Pereira leapfrogged UFC legend Jon Jones to occupy the No.2 spot on the list with a TKO victory over Jiri Prochazka at UFC 303. Before that, there was fierce contention over Islam Makhachev claiming the top spot with Jones still in the mix.
According to former No.1 ranked pound-for-pound fighter Kamaru Usman, the top spot in the weight-neutral ranking is a status bestowed by the display of skillsets amalgamation. The way he sees it, one cannot be proficient in a particular department and claim their spot on the ladder. Speaking about Pereira's holding in a recent episode of Pound 4 Pound podcast, he said:
“Yes, you can stand and knock everybody out – guys who aren’t moving, guys who aren’t shooting on you, guys who aren’t testing your grappling. But that doesn’t mean you are No. 1 pound-for-pound. So, don’t be upset about that. Don’t be butt hurt about it. If anything, show me you’re pound-for-pound. Go out there, take the next guy down, get on top, full mount, switch up, armbar on top. That lets me know, ‘Oh, sh*t. OK.'”
Catch Usman's comments below (6:10):