"Does he ever have an uncomplicated camp?" - Fans react as Alex Pereira comes clean about UFC 313 injury and illness revealed by Joe Rogan

By Nishant Zende.

Modified Mar 27, 2025 03:01 GMT

Alex Pereira (left) addresses Joe Rogan's (right) claims about his UFC 313 injury and illness. [Image courtesy: Getty Images]

Alex Pereira recently addressed Joe Rogan's revelation about his suffering from a hand injury and a viral infection before his fight against Magomed Ankalaev. While the Brazilian admitted he faced health challenges during training camp, he dismissed the notion that it discredited Ankalaev's title win in any way.

During the Fight Companion episode for UFC London on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast, the UFC commentator suggested that Pereira wasn't fully fit heading into his title defense against Ankalaev. He stated that he heard the Brazilian allegedly fought with a broken hand and was down with norovirus.

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Speaking to Ariel Helwani on his show, Pereira clarified that he didn't want to "take credit" away from Ankalaev despite having an injured hand. Further addressing Rogan's claims about his pre-fight issues, 'Poatan' said:

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"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."

He continued:

"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."

After @arielhelwani shared a clip of Pereira's comments on the show via an X post, fans flocked to the comments section to express their thoughts.

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One fan asked:

"Does he ever have an uncomplicated camp?"

Another fan wrote:

"He definitely looked off. Rematch asap."

Check out some more reactions below:

Alex Pereira addresses lack of forward pressure during Magomed Ankalaev fight at UFC 313

In the same interview, Alex Pereira opened up about not deploying an aggressive striking gameplan and revealed that he needed to adapt to Magomed Ankalaev's skillset. However, 'Poatan' clarified that he didn't regret his decisions during the fight.

Speaking to Ariel Helwani on his show, the Brazilian explained not putting it on Ankalaev over their five-round fight, saying:

"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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About the author

Nishant brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to his MMA reporting for Sportskeeda. During his 1.5 years with the organization and previous work, Nishant has established himself as a prolific writer in the MMA community. With a Bachelor's degree in Media and Journalism and a Master's degree in International Relations, Nishant's educational background enhances his analytical and reporting skills.

Nishant admires UFC legend Georges St-Pierre for his dominance and exemplary conduct inside and outside the cage. The monumental UFC 229 event, headlined by a grudge match between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor, captivated Nishant and solidified his passion for MMA.

Nishant focuses on delivering high-quality content by giving attention to detail, and rigorous fact-checking via multiple layers. His dedication is evident in his achievement of publishing over 1.7K articles and accumulating 4.4 million reads in less than two years.

Nishant feels that it is only a matter of time that MMA takes over Boxing as the no.1 combat sport. Beyond MMA, his interests include philosophy, music exploration, and wildlife photography.

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Edited by Nishant Zende.