Every fighter has a signature move—one technique that almost guarantees victory. Think of Demon Slayer’s Zenitsu and his deadly Thunder Breathing First Form. When it comes to the UFC, this conception stands true! For Dan Henderson, it was his ballistic right ‘H-Bomb’ right hook. For former 205lbs champ Alex Pereira, that signature move has always been his concussive left hook. However, in his latest outing, Pereira failed to capitalize on that trademark weapon—a surprising misstep. Ultimately, Magomed Ankalaev overwhelmed Pereira on the feet, claiming the gold.

Yet, in hindsight, it seems the Brazilian may have gained something valuable from the experience—a new skill that could become a strength moving forward. As the saying goes, “you win some, you lose some.” After observing Pereira’s performance against Ankalaev, the Dagestani’s past rival Anthony Smith acknowledged that ‘Poatan’ has shown an impressive wrestling arsenal. On his podcast, Smith addressed the topic of wrestling skills and stated:

“I know that people gave me a lot of s–t for saying that Ankalaev isn’t set up to be a high-level wrestler. I rest my fu—ng case. Cause everyone says Alex Pereira is a terrible wrestler. All you gotta do is take him down. Either he is not as bad of a wrestler as you guys say he is, or Magomed Ankalaev is not as good of a wrestler as you guys say he is. So one of those two things has to be true.”

And Smith’s claims aren’t overblown at all. During the UFC 313 main event, Alex Pereira may have come up short, but his takedown defense was undeniably impressive. The Brazilian successfully defended all 12 of Ankalaev’s takedown attempts — an exceptional feat for a kickboxer whose primary strength isn’t grappling.

Moreover, ‘Lionheart’ knows a thing or two about Magomed Ankalaev’s fighting style. For the unversed, Smith faced the Dagestani at UFC 277 and suffered a TKO loss in round 2. After that fight, Ankalaev labeled Smith as one of his easiest opponents. This was an apparent response to Smith’s earlier criticism of his fighting style. Before Ankalaev’s UFC 308 bout, Smith had taken a jab at the Dagestani, claiming his unexciting style had dampened the UFC’s interest in him.

Unsurprisingly, Ankalaev didn’t take kindly to the remark, later calling Smith his “easiest fight ever” on social media. But it seems that Smith isn’t the only one sold on Pereira’s newfound skill.

Chael Sonnen weighs in on Alex Pereira’s grappling prowess

The judges’ scorecards after the UFC 313 main event stood at 48-47, 48-47, and 49-46 against the former 205lbs champ. However, Pereira was able to silence many of his critics on the topic of his grappling abilities. This newfound defensive skill caught the attention of Chael Sonnen. ‘The Bad Guy’ believes Pereira’s wrestling could pose a serious threat to Jon Jones if ‘Poatan’ decides to move up to heavyweight.

“It turns out that old Alex Pereira ain’t so easy to take down. Alex Pereira showed some stuff. That entire narrative that he can’t defend and he can’t wrestle is now gone,” Sonnen said, clearly impressed by Pereira’s progress. However, as Anthony Smith pointed out, the perception of Ankalaev being an elite grappler might be a bit overstated. Since Ankalaev hails from Dagestan, many fans and MMA veterans have assumed his wrestling prowess mirrors that of elite grapplers like Islam Makhachev and Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Even Michael Bisping addressed this misconception on his show, saying, “That’s a good way of putting it if I do say so myself. Ankalaev isn’t even a grappler. He’s not a Dagestani wrestler.” Moreover, most of Ankalaev’s UFC victories have come via KO/TKO or unanimous decision. Ankalaev boasts 11 wins by KO, with six of those finishes coming in the first round. Even more surprising is his modest 23% takedown accuracy — a stark contrast to Pereira’s 50% takedown accuracy.

So the question of Pereira going toe to toe against Jones seems to be overblown at the moment considering the GOAT contender is one of the most vaunted grapplers in the history of the UFC. But this is the fight game and MMA maths is worthless when the Octagon door closes. What are your thoughts on Pereira’s improved grappling? Share your thoughts in the comments below.