Henry Cejudo questions Alex Pereira’s lifestyle and P4P status after UFC 313 loss: "Had everything to do with it"

Alex Pereira made his return to the octagon last weekend, suffering a unanimous decision loss to Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 313 and losing the light heavyweight title in the process. Former two-division champ Henry Cejudo recently questioned if 'Poatan's' lifestyle caught up with him while claiming that his pound-for-pound status could have been affected by not facing the new champion sooner.

X account @acdmma_ shared comments from Cejudo on Tuesday, posting:

"Pereira’s mouth was open like the majority of the damn fight. It had everything to do with maybe his lifestyle. Is he one of the GOAT light-heavyweights? Yeah, but the reason we never put him up in P4P is because he never fought the #1 contender Magomed Ankalaev.”

Check out ACD MMA's tweet on Henry Cejudo's comments below:

Pereira spent plenty of time traveling and promoting himself leading up to the bout and looked to be timid in the octagon. While Ankalaev was unable to land any of his 12 takedown attempts, the threat of his grappling appeared to neutralize 'Poatan' during the bout. The former light heavyweight champion fell five spots to the No. 8 position in the pound-for-pound rankings.

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Magomed Ankalaev reveals that negotiations have began for Alex Pereira rematch

Alex Pereira and Magomed Ankalaev both expressed interest in an immediate rematch following their UFC 313 clash. The latter recently revealed that negotiations between the two sides and the promotion are already underway.

Championship Rounds shared Ankalaev's comments to X on Monday, posting:

"Negotiations are already underway regarding a rematch. It's not yet known who will be next, but we agreed in advance, if they want a rematch then we are ready. [via. Ushatayka]"

Check out the tweet from Championship Rounds below:

Following the bout, Ankalaev shared that he wants his first title defense to come in Abu Dhabi, where the UFC typically travels in October. While other light heavyweight contenders have thrown their names into the mix, all signs point to Pereira getting a rightful, immediate rematch after defending his title three times in six months in 2024. 'Poatan' will have to make plenty of adjustments if he hopes to reclaim the title, however, as he was outstruck in their first clash.