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.
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.
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."