At UFC 313, Magomed Ankalaev shook up the light heavyweight division by dethroning the fearsome Alex Pereira to become champion. What was meant to ignite a legendary rivalry between two MMA titans has instead drifted into limbo. ‘Poatan’ doesn’t seem fully ready to face the Dagestani. No trash talk, no contract signed. Just rumors—and they’re getting louder. Now, with the UFC’s planned Germany meet-and-greet featuring Pereira suddenly scrapped, fans are left asking: what’s really going on? Let’s find out.
The promotion had arranged a meet-and-greet for Alex Pereira in Germany following the hacking incident—the one where he allegedly put out an X post about him not being happy with the UFC, but it wasn’t him, as clarified on his Instagram. One could say it was their way of showing that ‘Poatan’ was still with them. However, the event was canceled before it could even take place. According to the CombatForever Instagram handle, the event had to be canceled considering the fact that way too many people showed up at the venue.
“The UFC cancelled Alex Pereira’s meet and greets in Germany today because too many people showed up. Both Alex Pereira and UFC middleweight Abus Magomedov were scheduled to participate in a meet-and-greet event in Germany today. However, Pereira’s fans came in huge numbers, forcing the UFC to cancel the event,” captioned the post by CombatForever.
As the event stand was canceled, Abus Magomedov took to his social media handle to thank everyone who came to the venue, “Thanks to everyone who came out to the meet & greet today. Unfortunately the UFC decided to cancel the event due to the huge demand. Sorry to everyone who’s been waiting.. we’ll catch up after we’re in the top 10.”
The meet-and-greet could have been the perfect opportunity for the UFC to announce the fight between Alex Pereira and Magomed Ankalaev, but it appears the promotion might take some more time to make it official. Time and again, Ankalaev has asserted that he is ready to face anyone, asking, “Guys, is there anyone in the Light Heavyweight division who’s willing to fight me?” But the sheer silence from the former champion is worrying.
Is Alex Pereira injured? Is he afraid? Does ‘Poatan’ have other plans? Questions have arisen, but the answers are yet to surface. Amidst this chaos, Chael Sonnen has come forward to give some hints.
Chael Sonnen clears Alex Pereira’s true intentions amidst ducking allegations
Uncle Chael has always called a spade a spade—he’s never been afraid to call out a fighter’s intentions. But this time, even he is confused by Alex Pereira’s actions. Poatan himself asked for the rematch, yet he’s the one who isn’t ready for it. The math just doesn’t make sense here.
“Does Alex Pereira want the world title? Fight the rematch? Does he want Big Ank?” Sonnen asked before delivering the bombshell. “There’s nothing—nothing I can turn to,” he said, referring to the lack of any concrete statements from the concerned parties regarding the fight announcement.
In addition to these points, let us not forget the fact that Pereira’s X handle once posted something about leaving the UFC. Later, he claimed that his account had been hacked. But how much truth is there to that statement? He further added, “He does not think the judges got it right that night. He does want to stay at 205 pounds. He does want that belt back—there’s nothing that says that.” Alex Pereira has yet to make any statement about his upcoming fight, but one thing is certain: fans might have to wait for it. Well, what are your thoughts about their rematch? State your opinion in the comments below.
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