Against Magomed Ankalaev Athletic UFC 313, Alex Pereira looked gun-shy. And who could blame him? Unlike Pereira’s other opponents, Ankalaev refused to be intimidated by the Brazilian ex-champ’s terrifying aura. Sure, ‘Poatan’ threw those leg kicks, but the Russian remained unfazed and refused to give Pereira the space to plant his foot and land his signature devastating shots. To add insult to injury, Magomed Ankalaev gladly offered a rematch to Alex Pereira, for August’s pay-per-view card. But it seems ‘Poatan’ is unsure of facing the Russian light heavyweight champion again.

“I have a feeling you don’t want the rematch after I agreed to August,” Magomed Ankalaev stated recently, expressing concern about the rematch. It seems like his concern is valid because, if we take a look back—in the aftermath of UFC 312, Alex Pereira had two options in terms of mega fights. Of course, the Jon Jones fight was the first one, and after Dricus du Plessis defeated Sean Strickland in their rematch, ‘Stillknocks’ expressed his desire to fight ‘Poatan’ as well. However, as we all know, his UFC 313 defeat shattered any chance of him taking on the undisputed heavyweight champion, but the du Plessis fight is still on the table right?

While Dana White hasn’t confirmed it yet, Pereira’s mentor and former UFC champion, Glover Teixeira, claims that there is a chance that Pereira ends up fighting ‘Stillknocks’ next, especially due to the lack of credible opponents in the light heavyweight division. He’s open to it, but what about the weight class? Well, Dricus du Plessis is open to making the jump up a weight class, which Alex Pereira’s team prefers. However, a return to 185 lbs may not be out of the question, although Teixeira admitted that it’s tough to make that weight for ‘Poatan’.

“I think it’s [Pereira vs du Plessis] a good fight. I think that’s probably the next fight for [Pereira]… Maybe Dricus goes [to] 205 [pounds],” Alex Pereira’s mentor stated on ‘The Coach And The Casual’ podcast. “I don’t know if he can [make it to 185 lbs]. I’m not going to say he can’t. He probably can, but it’s just like too much.”

However, Alex Pereira might not have a choice but to take the rematch against Magomed Ankalaev. If you’re wondering why? Well, Dricus du Plessis appears to have lost interest in a fight against the former light heavyweight champion. Let’s take a look at that front.

Dricus du Plessis claims Alex Pereira’s ‘aura’ is gone

The UFC 313 defeat was a pretty bad one for Alex Pereira. After losing the Jon Jones fight, Dricus du Plessis also appeared to have shot down the possibility of a fight against the Brazilian star. The only reason the middleweight champion wanted to fight Pereira in the first place was because he had the 205-pound gold with him, and just like any other UFC fighter, du Plessis wanted to become a double champion.

But with him dropping his belt in a pretty lopsided loss to Magomed Ankalaev, Dricus du Plessis sees no worth in fighting ‘Poatan’. The reason behind it is not only because he lost the championship, but also got exposed by the Dagestan native, since he was seen as an unstoppable force of nature. “Thanks, Ankalaev, for taking the biggest payday of my life. It’s nothing personal,” the South African native stated in a YouTube vlog on Jackson O’Doherty’s channel. When asked if he’d fight Pereira if he manages to get his title back, the 185lbs champ replied, “No. Aura gone.”

It seems like losing the light heavyweight belt has brought Alex Pereira to a crossroads. But what do you think? Should he compete in the rematch or chase Dricus du Plessis, even though there’s not much to gain from it, apart from winning the middleweight belt for the second time?