Retired UFC legend Chael Sonnen recently appeared on Submission Radio, where he shared his thoughts about Alex Pereira's potential rematch against Magomed Ankalaev.
Sonnen was left unimpressed by Pereira's performance at UFC 313 as 'Poatan' ended up losing his belt to 'Big Ank' in a unanimous decision defeat. This was just the third professional loss that the Brazilian has faced in his mixed martial arts career.
Alex Pereira has been on an absolute tear since he signed with the UFC back in 2021, stacking up highlight reel finishes against the likes of Israel Adesanya, Sean Strickland, Jiří Procházka and Jamahal Hill (all being former champions). However, 'The American Gangster' does not believe in the Brazilian's chances of avenging his loss against Ankalaev in a rematch, stating:
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"I gotta tell you, there is nothing in that first fight, whether there was illness, injury or combination of both, there was nothing in that first fight that would lead a reasonable analyst to believe you could have a different outcome in the second fight."
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Sonnen is of the opinion that 'Poatan' lost four rounds out of five against Ankalaev, which is consistent with Judge Sal D'Amato's 49-46 scorecard on the night of the fight (in favor of Ankalaev).
Although, Sonnen lauded Pereira for his takedown defense, he thinks that Ankalaev is likely to make necessary adjustments to his game to prevail in a potential rematch.
"There is nothing to believe that round six, seven, eight, nine and ten are going to be any different and whatever it is that Pereira is supposed to have learned in that job experience, why would we not believe that an equal amount would be learned by Ankalaev?"
Check out Chael Sonnen's comments below (16:30 & 17:50):
Alex Pereira opens up on his health problems ahead of UFC 313
During his appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show, Alex Pereira broke silence on the issues that he faced leading up to his fight against Magomed Ankalaev.
The 37-year-old revealed that he had endured significant health problems during his training camp, causing hindrances to his preparation. However, the Brazilian stated that he did not want to use his health issues as an excuse and discredit Ankalaev in the process:
"I do not try to take credit from Ankalaev. Many people try to do that kind of thing (but) I am not this type of guy. Everybody goes through problems, I am sure he had his own problems too, I had mine."
Check out Alex Pereira's comments below (03:25):
