Two years after Magomed Ankalaev‘s UFC 282 title hopes were washed away in a draw against Jan Blachowicz, the #1-ranked 205lbs contender is right on track in his quest for the throne. But the king he has to dethrone is none other than Alex Pereira, who is unyielding and carries the most dangerous left hook that is the stuff of both legend and nightmares. But unlike ‘Poatan’s last three opponents, Magomed Ankalaev has an incredible grappling pedigree. Sure, the Dagestani does his finest work on his feet, but he does have a penchant for taking the fight to the ground if he has to.

So does that warrant a strategic gameplan from the division’s king? Should Pereira account for the added headache of grappling exchanges at UFC 313? After all, he was seen grappling with Glover Teixeira in the snow in a recent video. But ‘Poatan’ doesn’t seem all too bothered about his strategy going into the fight. Speaking to Mark Bouris, he said, “I’m training now, how I always train. Nothing has changed except that he’s left-handed. I have a lot of experience with grappling as well. I’m not scared, I’m ready to go.”

And backing ‘Poatan’ was none other than former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman. ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ joined experts on ESPN MMA and said that Pereira is capable of defeating Magomed Ankalaev with the same fighting style he has used for his past opponents.

“For ‘Poatan’ if it ain’t broken, why fix it? What he’s been doing so far has been working. He’s able to march towards guys. Put his paws on guys and as we all know, that left hook that he possesses is a missile and if it lands those guys go night night. Pereira has done a good job keeping himself as I believe the most active champion that we have right now in the UFC. And he is looking to go out there and make quick work of Ankalaev.”, said Usman.

Magomed Ankalaev will indeed be the biggest test of the Brazilian champion’s MMA career. The Dagestani light heavyweight, although never having finished anyone with submissions in his MMA career, has shown a deep understanding of being able to mix his grappling effectively with strikes, making him an extremely dangerous and well-rounded fighter. As for Alex Pereira, well, he’s not losing sleep over this fight, despite knowing full well, the stakes of the matchup. So what is his mindset going into this fight?

“Ready for war” – Alex Pereira issues warning to Magomed Ankalaev

Why does Pereira shave his head off before fights? Well, because he thinks he looks like a ‘good guy’ with a full head of hair. For fighters, the sweet image does not really work when one of the prerequisites for fighting is being able to strike fear into your opponent’s heart. Since people judge a book by its cover, he said he “needs to be ready for war.” He had declared ahead of UFC 303, “With hair, I look like a good guy, it doesn’t work. I need to be ready for war.” 

And now, as UFC 313 approaches, the 205lbs champ is back in his warrior aura—head completely shaved, cold and stoic, focused on winning. He captured his menacing persona in a mirror selfie recently that he posted on his Instagram story while threatening Ankalaev. Pereira wrote in his native Portuguese: “pronto pra matar” [ready to kill] in the captions.

Pereira’s UFC fights and victories testify to his left hook as a devastating weapon. He has floored three former champs—Prochazka, Sean Strickland, and Hill with his thunderous left hook. However, Ankalaev feels that he has what it takes to counter that left hook during his fight. He recently posted on X, “Alex Pereira has one signature move. He has that left hook. He lures his opponents in, he just catches them and drops them as they rush in. He thinks we don’t understand that, that we don’t see it. But, I’m smart enough and I have enough experience to win.”

So will Ankalaev get the better of Pereira or the latter will continue his reign as the undisputed champion in the light heavyweight throne again? Let us know your thoughts in the comments down below.