Alex Pereira explains lack of signature aggressive striking against Magomed Ankalaev and whether he regrets the decision

Alex Pereira recently addressed his title loss to Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 313 and opened up about some of the mistakes he made during the fight. The Brazilian also spoke about being on the defensive for most of the bout and explained why he didn't get more aggressive with his striking.

Ankalaev and Pereira threw down at UFC 313 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas earlier this month. The fight was a closely contested affair, with Ankalaev ultimately winning via unanimous decision after five rounds of action. It's worth noting that many thought 'Poatan' outpointed Ankalaev in the fight and deserved to win.

During a recent interview with Ariel Helwani, Pereira addressed the fight and explained his apparent lack of forward pressure. He said:

"I'm a guy that I want to stand up with this guy and this guy is trying to take me down. You create an awareness, and you gotta find a different distance to adapt... It's not a regret because I did what I could in those moments."

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Alex Pereira discusses Joe Rogan's revelation about him going into UFC 313 fight with hand injury and norovirus

In the same interview, Alex Pereira also addressed Joe Rogan revealing that he was suffering from a hand injury and down with norovirus before going into the Magomed Ankalaev fight at UFC 313.

Speaking to Ariel Helwani, 'Poatan' admitted that he faced challenges involving his hand but chose not to discredit Ankalaev's win and dismissed the notion that it had anything to do with his title loss. He said:

"I'm not trying to take credit from Ankalaev, many people have tried to do that kind of thing, and I'm not this type of guy... My hand is fine, but it did affect a lot of things. I don't wanna use that as an excuse... One of the more complicated fight camps that has ever happened...

"I do not regret [fighting] because I've motivated a lot of people. Many times I pushed through things, I was able to overcome... Many times it worked, this time was not my moment."