Athletes
Alex Pereira And The Ascension To Superstardom
A Look Back At “Poatan” And His Banner 2024 Before He Looks To Keep His Momentum Rolling Into 2025 At UFC 313: Pereira vs Ankalaev
While UFC.com’s Fighter of the Year award ended in a (justified) tie between Alex Pereira and Ilia Topuria, few would argue against “Poatan” defining the UFC calendar in 2024. His three title defenses came in a high-profile five-month stretch, which included top-billing at two marquee pay-per-view events.
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As Pereira approaches his first bout of 2025—a title defense against the ever-dangerous Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 313—he does so as a real superstar in the sport. It’s a status he earned with his work in 2024, and it certainly comes with a different level of expectations and pressure, but, from all accounts, the 37-year-old appears well-equipped to handle it.
Alex Pereira | Top Finishes
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Alex Pereira | Top Finishes
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The ascension remains fascinating, though. Pereira went from an imposing, mostly silent and mostly stonefaced knockout artist to a beloved figure in the MMA world. It didn’t happen overnight, and 2024’s results came as a product built beforehand, but it is undeniable that Pereira broke into a newer level of popularity in 2024.
He was already a figure of intrigue when he made his Octagon debut in November 2021 with a whopping five professional MMA bouts on his record. He warranted that attention in part because of his historic kickboxing accolades, but much of the curiosity around the hulking striker came from his past with then-champion Israel Adesanya, who had left the middleweight divison bereft of title challengers to that point.
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The saga with Adesanya, which stretches seven years, is well-documented, and when Pereira moved up to light heavyweight following his loss to Adesanya at UFC 287, it sort of seemed like a proper step outside of that rivalry’s shadow. He picked up a contested split decision over Jan Błachowicz at UFC 291 to get his feet wet at 205 pounds, but it was his next outing that serves as the proper preview for what was to come last year.
Pereira earned a shot at the vacant light heavyweight title with his win in Salt Lake City against former champion Jiří Procházka in what was scheduled to serve as the co-main event to a heavyweight title fight between Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic. About two weeks before the fight, however, Jones suffered an injury, and Pereira suddenly found himself headlining one of UFC’s signature events each year in New York City. He subsequently delivered a second-round knockout and became just the ninth fighter in UFC history to capture titles in multiple divisions.
Heading into 2024, most expected him to defend his belt in the first half of the year. The call came a little quicker than anticipated as UFC found itself in need of a fight worthy of headlining UFC 300 in Las Vegas. Pereira answered the call, bringing every bit of the theatrics and striking excellence UFC wanted to cap a milestone night. From his signature walkout to now-iconic custom shorts, Pereira defended his belt in all kinds of aura-filled style against former champion Jamahal Hill. He punctuated the first-round knockout with a meme-inspired celebration, a perfect end to what was a banner night in the promotion.
The promotion needed Pereira to save another card when the main event between Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler fell apart ahead of UFC 303. On two weeks’ notice, despite teaching a seminar in Australia upon receiving the call, Pereira flew across the world to defend his belt for the second time in two months against a motivated Procházka. Once again, Pereira delivered a thunderous finish in the second round, which also served as the exclamation point on UFC’s signature summer event at International Fight Week.
The final of his triumphant trio of knockouts came at UFC 307 against the underdog Khalil Rountree Jr. in Pereira’s return to Salt Lake City. The bout came with more adversity for the champion, but he responded in kind, finding his rhythm in the third round before imposing his will on the game Rountree Jr. in the fourth. The finishing flurry allowed Pereira to set the record for the shortest time for three title defenses at 175 days, and it seemed like everyone wanted a piece of Pereira.
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After a well-deserved break, Pereira now gets what many believe is his toughest test to-date in the 205-pound division. Ankalaev, who joined the promotion in March 2018, is unbeaten over his last 13 fights, including five wins by knockout. While some anticipate Ankalaev to shoot for takedowns early and often, the 32-year-old’s striking is his bread and butter.
Over the last year or so, Pereira has teased a move up to heavyweight in hopes of snatching a historic third belt, but that division is currently tied up waiting for a unification bout between Jon Jones and Tom Aspinall. However, it sort of feels like Ankalaev is one of the last pieces standing in the way of Pereira potentially moving up and making even more history. Whether or not he still has that goal in mind, Pereira will have his full skillset pushed to the test in Las Vegas. A win there on March 8 could send his career, already on a rocket ship, to new heights.
UFC 313: Pereira vs Ankalaev took place live from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on March 8, 2025. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!
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