Alex Pereira was on hand at UFC 316 to enjoy the fights, and he took some time to speak to the press on what the future holds for “Poatan.”
In the past, fans got to enjoy random Pereira fights added to cards at the last minute. Any time the UFC was in trouble, they could call their stone faced slugger and he’d agree to step up and fight. That won’t be the case this year as the Brazilian takes some time to rest and relax after a busy twelve months that ended with the loss of his light heavyweight title.
“It’s hard for someone to do that sequence of fights in a year, four fights,” Pereira told UFC Brasil. “So I think people miss it.”
“This is more about resting,” he said. “I’m recovering my body, right some injuries, and I’m going to travel to Brazil, I’m going to stay in Brazil for 30 days to resolve some things and to start the preparation, to take care of my body and come back strong and steady.”
He sent a message directly to his fans, some of whom have questioned his drive to continue fighting.
“I’m just resting a little,” he insisted. “Guys are used to seeing us fight all the time. Now let’s take a break, but that’s it. Soon I’m coming back strong and right, bringing joy to everyone and that’s it. Keep rooting for me because there’s a lot of things to happen.”
That’s a tantalizing statement, but first things first: “Poatan” wants to get his belt back from Magomed Ankalaev, who beat him via unanimous decision at UFC 313 in March.
“That’s my focus, that’s what I want the most and that will happen,” he said of becoming champion again. As for when? “We haven’t talked [with UFC], but we know around October. It could be September, October, November, that date is perfect for me.”
Pereira didn’t have much to say about Ankalaev, who’s been talking more s—t on X (formerly Twitter) towards him since their fight.
“He says my name because nobody knows he’s the champion, right?” Pereira said. “So when he says my name he appears a little bit. But I’m not responding to his provocations because I know it’s only to promote. When the time is right, I’ll go. I’ll talk.”
He also doesn’t believe he needs to overhaul his entire game in order to beat Ankalaev in a rematch.
“Some different things [will be done], but I’m telling you that these are details,” Pereira said. “It’s not something where I have to do some retraining and change so my game isn’t the same. Just correcting some of the techniques.”
Ankalaev was the faster, grittier, and more active fighter in their last bout. Will this rest to heal up his body and tweak some techniques be enough for “Poatan” to take his belt back? It sounds like we’ll find out in the fall.
