Alex Pereira’s rematch against Magomed Ankalaev could be “markedly different”, says ex-UFC champion following Joe Rogan’s revelation 

It seems more and more people are getting convinced that an immediate rematch between Magomed Ankalaev and Alex Pereira for the UFC light-heavyweight title is inevitable. At UFC 313 last month, Ankalaev shocked the MMA world by standing with Pereira, beating him in his own game en route to winning the strap.

With influential individuals like Joe Rogan claiming that 'Poatan' had an injury during the fight, fans are now clamoring for a second dance with Ankalaev to settle the score. Former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker recently weighed in on Pereira's rumored "injury" and how a possible rematch might look.

In an episode of MMArcade Podcast on YouTube, Whittaker said:

"The fact is, fighters do deal with stuff all the time. No fighter goes into a fight 100%, generally speaking. Mate, there are plenty of times fighters fight with legitimate excuses. You can't say them, though, coz you'll look, like, salty."

Whittaker added:

"His [Pereira's] excuses are very real and everybody has pried these out of him. He didn't say any of them. But excuses are very real so maybe the next fight will be markedly different... His right hand was broken dude. It means his power just wasn't there in his money makers. "

Check out Robert Whittaker's comments below(34:38):

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Alex Pereira addresses rumors about suffering injury during fight with Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 313

After Joe Rogan revealed that he suffered a hand injury and norovirus during his fight with Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 313, Alex Pereira officially addressed the rumors in an interview with Ariel Helwani.

Speaking through his translator and coach Plinio Cruz, the former UFC middleweight and light-heavyweight champion 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."

Pereira is not the kind to make excuses for his losses. 'Poatan' insists that it was his performance - not the injuries - that prevented him from retaining the title against Ankalaev.

Check out Alex Pereira's comments below: