Alex Pereira’s Dirty Tactics Exposed by Joe Rogan Months Before UFC 303 – “Pereira Has Closed That Gap”

Joe Rogan wasn’t happy with how Alex Pereira defended his light-heavyweight crown against Jamahal Hill at UFC 300! ‘Poatan’ is currently scheduled to take on Jiri Prochazka after Conor McGregor’s withdrawal from the UFC 303 card forced the promotion to scramble to find a new main event on short notice. The pair have already faced off against each other when Pereira won the vacant 205 lbs. title by finishing Prochazka in the second round of their fight at UFC 295.

The Brazilian then made the second defense of his light heavyweight crown against former champion Hill at UFC 300. Pereira finished Hill in the first round by his trademark left hook, however, Joe Rogan had raised some concerns about the events leading up to the finish in his conversation with Max Holloway on the JRE (Joe Rogan Experience) MMA Show no. 155 a few months ago.

Joe Rogan is not a fan of Alex Pereira’s tactics at UFC 300 as he scrutinizes finishing sequence  

The fight between Alex Pereira and Jamahal Hill started with a feeling-out process with both men attempting to establish their range and trying to find gaps in their opponent’s defense. While trading leg-kicks and moving around the Octagon, Hill attempted a body kick that landed low on Pereira. As referee Herb Dean attempted to step in to pause the action, ‘Poatan’ waved him away and just a few seconds later, landed a thunderous left hand that put Hill on the floor and closed out the show with some follow-up shots.

As such, during his conversation with Max Holloway, Joe Rogan brought up the video of the finishing sequence and pointed out, “So he touches it, he closed the distance while Jamahal’s legs are straight. So Jamahal gives him the thumbs up and Pereira had a double hop.”

The UFC color commentator and podcast host’s issue with Pereira’s tactics stems from the fact that he didn’t step away to a safe distance when the low blow landed and waited for the referee’s instruction to re-engage.  Rogan further stated, “Yeah, this is a real moment. Now, I’m not making any excuses for Jamahal, and Jamahal can take a loss as good as anybody…but he’s got a point here. It’s not a perfect point because they had engaged again but Pereira had closed that gap to a point where Jamahal wasn’t letting him do that early…”

His comments about Hill having “a point” refer to the former champion’s interview with ‘The Schmo’ after his UFC 300 loss where he’d claimed that, “…I would’ve liked to have had a more clean and better reset”, when asked about his thoughts on the finish.  Despite Rogan’s critique, Pereira’s victory over Hill remains official and sets the stage for his upcoming bout against Prochazka as ‘Poatan’ has already revealed his plans for the future of his reign atop the 205 lbs division!

Pereira wants to prove a point with his sights set on the next challenge  

While the Alex Pereira and Jiri Prochazka fight is guaranteed to be filled with fireworks between the two light-heavyweight titans, the champion has already got a plan in mind for what’s next. In a conversation with Stake.com, ‘Poatan’ indicated that he has his eyes set on the no.2 ranked Magomed Ankalaev for his next challenge in the division!

Pereira stated, “Magomed Ankalaev is a guy I would like to test myself against. A lot of people talk about that match up and say that he will submit me really quickly. I would like to shut a lot of those people up and show a lot of my ground game as well.”

With his impressive kickboxing background, questions have been raised about Pereira’s ability to deal with an elite grappler/wrestler inside the Octagon. As such, this desire to face a dangerous stylistic matchup like Ankalaev highlights Pereira’s competitive spirit and determination to solidify his reign atop the 205 lbs division. Do you think Alex Pereira will remain undefeated at 205 lbs, and what matchups would you like to see him take on in the future? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!