On one hand, we have the ever-entertaining, trash-talking, and boisterous Conor McGregor, and on the other, we have Alex Pereria, calm and stoic – total contrasts to each other. McGregor’s pizazz has always kept him in the limelight and his trash-talking has gained his fights a lot of pay-per-views. On the other hand, ‘Poatan’ has never really been flashy, he lets his fight and deadly left hook do all the talking.

His quietness is intimidating enough and it works perfectly for him. Surprisingly, he proves that in the fight business, trash-talking and being entertaining are not the only ways to sell a fight and become a millionaire. Because he does it without even saying a word.

How do we know this? Well, it’s all thanks to ex-UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping and ex-UFC lightweight star Paul Felder. While speaking about the latest bet that Magomed Ankalaev and Alex Pereira have made, they inadvertently spoke about how much Pereira earns in his fights. The bet? It’s a whole of $200,000 on the line for UFC 313 against the Dagestani phenom. It’s reminiscent of Conor McGregor’s controversial charity bet to Dustin Poirier before UFC 257. “Since you are so confident you will win, $200,000 to the winner’s charity of choice,” Pereira wrote on X.

Now coming back to Pereira’s uber-rich purse, Bisping said in his podcast, “Alright Alex Pereira he is not the global phenomenon that Conor was, is or nor will Pereira ever reach that kind of level. But one – I don’t think he wants to. Two – he is earning lots of money. If you would listen to Instagram the reports I see said he gets $9.5 million per fight. I saw that on Instagram yesterday. So he is doing very well.”

He also added, “If that’s true, he earned about $30 million last year on top of all the sponsors and stuff.” All of this without uttering a single trash-talking word. He did throw a challenge to Ankalaev but for a good cause. “Win or lose this will help those in need. It’s in your hands Ali Abdelaziz (UFC manager) Magomed Ankalaev.” That is what he had said in the X post as well.

Now if this news about the $9.5 million is true, then this even puts McGregor’s hard-earned purses to shame. As per Bloody Elbow, recent court documents have exposed some of the largest payouts for his fights in the 2010-2017 period. This is when the UFC star skyrocketed and Conor McGregor was in his best form. The expert report that cites payouts for McGregor during the class action period stated: “Conor McGregor was compensated nearly $20 million (A$31 million) for participation in nine UFC bouts of which he won eight.”

On the other hand, it was reported by Give Me Sport that Alex Pereira’s total payout for UFC 303 was $3.305 million, which contained a $303,000 bonus from UFC CEO Dana White.  To add to this amount, Pereira also received an estimated $2,740,000 for UFC 307 as per Give Me Sport. So Pereira’s aura is enough to make his presence known. He says so little but his actions speak volumes. This is exactly what he did for the upcoming fight as well.

Alex Pereira showed his fierce yet kind side with a challenge to Ankalaev

“Training camps are over. I’m ready for war. Saturday night, I’m going to change this guy’s face,” Magomed Ankalaev decided to threaten ‘Poatan’ via X. However, Alex Pereira is made of grit and the power of his ancestors, which the Dagestani powerhouse underestimated.

Taking to his Instagram handle, Alex Pereira posted a video where he set a huge $200,000 bet on his victory, with the earnings going to a good cause of Ankalaev’s choosing if he lost. “Saturday, March 8th, in Las Vegas. I’m betting $200,000 to donate to children in need—children with cancer. Many people need this help. Since Ali and Ankalaev seem to be 100 percent confident that they will beat me, I think they will accept this challenge,” said Alex Pereira.

He was full of conviction and said that he wanted to win but did not know if victory would be his— all he could do was give his best. Even then he is ready to bet $200,000 for a good cause. At the end of the video, Pereira urged Ankalaev to sign a contract stating the clause that if any of them lost, the other must deposit a specified amount of money to a verified hospital or charitable association of the winner’s picking.

Ankalaev’s response? The Dagestani challenger is a Muslim and cannot bet money since it’s against his religion. Instead, he is open to donating the money to charity regardless. So, do you think Pereira can get Ankalaev to cough up the money this Saturday? Share your thoughts in the comments below.