Pereira lost the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship to Ankalaev in the main event of UFC 313 in March. “Poatan” was defeated via unanimous decision. The story of the fight was that Ankalaev was the aggressor, forcing Pereira to fight backwards, which limited the effectiveness of his striking.

Even after a tough championship loss to start 2025, Alex Pereira is still considered one of the faces of the UFC. His career path is as unique as any, coming into the UFC at 34 years old and fighting 11 times against the best in the world in just over 3 years.

Pereira, 37, became the subject of whispers this past week when UFC commentator Joe Rogan claimed on his podcast that Pereira came into the Ankalaev fight with a broken hand and norovirus. There's at least some truth to those rumors, as Pereira confirmed he dealt with injuries, but he declined to go into detail.