The fight between Alex Pereira and Magomed Ankalaev did not go the way Dana White had expected. And White did not mince his words when, after the UFC 313 headliner, he was asked how did he feel about the fight. “Not what I expected. Expected a lot more shooting. Expected a lot more exchanges,” he had said. Dricus Du Plessis had an explanation of why it turned out to be like that.

“Listen, look at what I said in the beginning. If you don’t fight Pereira, he can’t fight. Look at this, he’s waiting for something. He’s going to counterpunch him. So people pay money for this… He’s just waiting on that one. I’m going to low-kick you, how are you going to counter me if I don’t punch?… That was the worst fight to watch ever,” Du Plessis had pointed out. Long story short, with the correct strategy, Ankalaev maintained distance from Pereira, effectively avoiding his brutal strikes and making the fight more of a tactical battle.

So when the next question went to White if he was considering a rematch, without wasting a second, he replied, “Probably.” Although Chael Sonnen was “surprised” at White’s thoughts, the ESPN MMA crew thought a knockout was probably what White was looking for. Meanwhile, the newly crowned champion’s camp accused ‘Poatan’ of foul play during their UFC 313 headliner, claiming that Pereira was involved in greasing. For some fighters, that could be a great excuse to avoid a rematch. But to what might be White’s relief, Ankalaev walked the opposite way.

“Alex when you’re ready to go again. You deserve this,” Magomed Ankalaev wrote on X, keeping his message short and sweet. The Dagestan native isn’t simply going to hand a rematch to Alex Pereira because there’s something in it for him as well. He’s got a chance to shut his critics up, grab another massive payday, and a successful title defense in the process. Also, Pereira has a unique place in the UFC.

The ‘Veteran Voice of the Octagon’, Bruce Buffer, recently bestowed ‘The One, The Only’ tag to Alex Pereira, which is something that only he can do given how long he’s been associated with the UFC. But Buffer has a good reason for it because Alex Pereira has been at the forefront of the UFC, becoming one of the biggest stars in combat sports and being a consistent box office draw for Dana White & Co.

From Alex Pereira’s epic rivalry with Israel Adesanya to his winning two divisional titles in record time, Magomed Ankalaev is well aware of the things the Brazilian native has achieved—who was once working in a tire shop, dealing with alcoholism, has now become the next Conor McGregor of sorts. Interestingly, Du Plessis thought, the loss had somewhat tarnished Pereira’s image. He said on Jackson O’Doherty’s vlog on YouTube that Pereira’s “aura [is] gone” after the loss.

But looks like Du Plessis is not the only one to believe in Ankalaev’s superiority. In fact, a former UFC champion predicted yet another clinical outing for the light heavyweight champion in the rematch.

Alex Pereira no match for Magomed Ankalaev?

Former middleweight kingpin Robert Whittaker recently addressed the aura and hype that surrounded Alex Pereira before he dropped the belt at UFC 313. Given that Magomed Ankalaev persevered in his approach to the fight, ‘The Reaper’ believes that the theory about ‘Poatan’ holding the power and the ability to vanquish any opponent with one big punch is now up for debate.

Furthermore, Whittaker also claimed that people may think the fight was close, but not that much, and guess what? Things are going to go down a similar way when Magomed Ankalaev and Alex Pereira lock horns once again. “I think the hype and confidence train that Pereira had, that if he touches you, you’re going to go out sort of vibe, is now moot-ish because Ankalaev didn’t die,” Whittaker stated on the MMArcade podcast.

“He’s like, all the boogeyman vibes, all the mysteries and uncertainties are now gone… I honestly think Ankalaev does better. I think it’s not as close as it just was. I don’t see the second fight going any differently,” Robert Whittaker added. Meanwhile, Tom Aspinall sounds even one step up in the debate.

“He [Ankalaev] was trying to tire him out with the grappling standing, like the cage grappling stuff. I think Ankalaev had the perfect game plan. He didn’t overcommit, tired him out. I can’t believe people watched that fight and thought that Pereira won,” Aspinall said in an interview with JNMediaUK. Do you agree with his assessment? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.