Alex Pereira is set to put his light-heavyweight UFC title on the line against Magomed Ankalaev this weekend.
The Brazilian is defending his belt once more, but Ankalaev is a fierce competitor, and it is set to be a thrilling night of action at UFC 313.
Pereira’s rise in UFC since his debut in 2021 has been quite remarkable.
He has stormed up the rankings to become one of the UFC’s biggest names, but it hasn’t always gone to plan.
Who has Alex Pereira lost to?
Pereira’s UFC career has been largely perfect, bar one defeat.
That one blemish on his record happened in April 2023 against Israel Adesanya.
It was for the middleweight title that Pereira had snatched from Adesanya in 2022.
In the rematch, Pereira was knocked out by his opponent after a flurry of brutal strikes.
The referee jumped in and waved off the contest, sparking Adesanya to release a succession of imaginary arrows at Pereira – his trademark celebration.
It was a close-fought contest, but in the end, it proved to be a big turning point for Pereira.
Since that contest, he has won every UFC fight.
This has seen him beat Jiri Prochazaka twice, and most recently, he saw off Khalil Rountree Jr.
However, there is one more defeat on Pereira’s record, but it wasn’t while he was part of the UFC.
Instead, it happened back in 2015 when the young Brazilian made his MMA debut for Jungle Fighter.
He fought Quemuel Ottoni and lost via submission (rear-naked choke).
This was again at middleweight, but Ottoni is one of just two people who can claim to have beaten Pereira even if it wasn’t in the UFC.
As a light-heavyweight, ‘Poatan’ is undefeated and has successfully defended his title three times.
The step up in weight has proven to be no problem at all for Pereira, but Ankalaev is preparing to be the one who gets that first win over Poatan at this weight category.
So, it’s all set up for stunning title clash.
Alex Pereira’s MMA record
- October 2024: Alex Pereira vs Khalil Rountree Jr (W) – KO/TKO
- June 2024: Alex Pereira vs Jiri Procchazka 2 (W) – KO/TKO
- April 2024: Alex Pereira vs Jamahal Hill (W) – KO/TKO
- November 2023: Alex Pereira vs Jiri Procchazka (W) – KO/TKO
- July 2023: Alex Pereira vs Jan Blachowicz (W) – Decision (split)
- April 2023: Alex Pereira vs Israel Adesanya (L) – KO/TKO
- November 2022: Alex Pereira vs Israel Adesanya (W) – KO/TKO
- July 2022: Alex Pereira vs Sean Strickland (W) – KO/TKO
- March 2022: Alex Pereira vs Bruno Silva (W) – Decision (unanimous)
- November 2021: Alex Pereira vs Andreas Michailidis – KO/TKO
- November 2020: Alex Pereira vs Thomas Powell – KO/TKO
- May 2016: Alex Pereira vs Marcus Vinicius – KO/TKO
- January 2016: Alex Pereira vs Marcelo Cruz – KO/TKO
- October 2015: Alex Pereira vs Quemuel Ottoni – Submission (rear-naked choke
Pereira vs Ankalaev: Date and how to follow
This light-heavyweight title showdown is set to take place on Saturday, March 8.
It is being held at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
The preliminary action is set to get going at around 11pm UK time.
The main event is currently scheduled for 3am on Sunday morning.
The action will be shown on TNT Sports and discovery+ in the UK, with the early preliminary rounds available on the UFC Fight Pass. More info here.
talkSPORT and talkSPORT.com will keep you up to date with all the action, while you can also follow all the build-up on talkSPORT’s MMA YouTube channel.
To tune in to talkSPORT or talkSPORT 2 through the website, click HERE for the live stream.
You can also listen via the talkSPORT app, on DAB digital radio, through your smart speaker and on 1089 or 1053 AM.
