UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira, known for handling matters in the cage rather than through trash talk, is growing tired of verbal jabs from past opponent Jamahal Hill and potential challenger Magomed Ankalaev, while remaining focused on his future fights and leaving opponent selection to the organization.
Alex Pereira, the UFC light heavyweight champion, usually prefers to settle matters in the cage rather than with words. However, he couldn’t ignore recent remarks aimed at him.
Since his knockout of Jamahal Hill in just over three minutes at UFC 300, Pereira has been hearing a lot of chatter from his former opponent. The noise hasn’t quieted down, especially after Pereira’s victory over Khalil Rountree Jr. at UFC 307. Hill reacted by yawning and later said he was “not impressed” with Pereira’s performance.
It seems Pereira is growing tired of Hill’s constant verbal jabs. Hill hasn’t fought since getting finished back in April.
“To be honest, if my performance against Khalil was crap, where does Jamahal’s rank?” Pereira told Uncrowned. “If that fight was bad, imagine the one against Jamahal.”
“How can he say that? Honestly, I’m done talking about Jamahal. I’m on another level.”
Clearly, Hill has some work to do before considering a rematch. Meanwhile, Pereira plans to stay active as he looks forward to 2025.
As the champion, Pereira doesn’t feel the need to call out his next opponent. He likes it that way.
“I don’t have anyone in mind,” Pereira mentioned. “The organization brought Khalil last time; it was a surprise for me too. I don’t really choose opponents.”
Pereira might not want to name anyone, but signs point toward a showdown with Magomed Ankalaev—if Ankalaev can get past Aleksandar Rakic at UFC 308.
Ankalaev has been vocal about wanting to dethrone Pereira, especially after being overlooked for the title shot given to Rountree.
With his fight approaching, Ankalaev’s manager Ali Abdelaziz told MMA Fighting that if Ankalaev wins at UFC 308, a fight against Pereira would be next.
Pereira isn’t one to turn down fights, but he’s getting fed up with Ankalaev and his team. This could change his approach to upcoming negotiations.
“Some say Ankalaev’s next, but honestly, he and his manager talk a lot of crap,” Pereira said. “They claim I don’t want to fight when the reality is the organization doesn’t want him because he’s boring. Fans don’t enjoy watching him; he doesn’t sell pay-per-views.”
“It’s disrespectful they’re blaming me. It’s up to the organization, not me. But maybe I’ll make it harder for them now.”
Regardless of what happens, Pereira has plenty of options after headlining three UFC pay-per-view cards in 2024.
After his win over Rountree in October, Pereira admitted dealing with health issues that nearly forced him out of the fight.
With a busy schedule in 2024 and needing rest, you’d think he’d take a break now?
“Ideally, I’d fight around June,” Pereira said. “But maybe March or even December works. The issue is these fights at UFC 303 and UFC 308 were so close together with many other commitments.”
“We had obligations postponed due to these fights,” he added. “March feels like a good date for my next bout.”