Alex Pereira has one prominent MMA fighter backing him this weekend.
This Saturday, Pereira challenges Magomed Ankalaev for the light heavyweight title in the main event of UFC 320. It’s a rematch of their fight at UFC 313 in March, where Ankalaev took the belt off “Poatan,” and as is often the case in rematches, Ankalaev is the favorite heading into the matchup. But former middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis is standing with Poatan on Saturday.
“It’s tough,” du Plessis said of the matchup on Fight
Forecast. “I know Pereira took a step away for a while, and that’s good. He was too active, I think. A lot of people want to see these fighters being active. I like fighters that are active, but he was — it’s impressive. That’s why I rate Pereira as one of the greatest combat athletes to ever walk this Earth. Just the way he’s been, he came in with not a lot of experience, and he just ran through everybody. And the best of the best!
“But with Ankalaev, he’s big, he’s strong, and that first fight, he just had the answers to beat Pereira, and he fought a smart fight. Not necessarily the most exciting style, but he fought a smart fight. Don’t give Pereira the distance where he can catch you with those massive punches.
“I’ve been looking at the training footage of Pereira for this one; he looks scary. He looks angry, and we’ll see what that loss did to him. He has come back from a loss, came back to reclaim the title, but this fight is a big fight for him. And Ankalaev now has that confidence, of course, of being the champion. But I’m gonna go Pereira on this one.”
Du Plessis has a little bit of history with Pereira. After defending his title in his rematch with Sean Strickland, “DDP” made a pointed callout of Poatan, who was in Strickland’s corner. But despite that, du Plessis was glowing with his assessment of Pereira heading into UFC 320, and his team’s ability to adjust to Ankalaev.
“I think what’s going to happen here is he’s coming to prove a point,” du Plessis said. “He’s not a young guy anymore. He’s nearing the end of his career, so it’s going to be exciting to see what he does after this, regardless of the outcome. But I honestly feel, the way I saw him in training, the stuff that I saw, he looks sharper, more intense.
“But the striking was never the problem. It’s going to be interesting to see. It wasn’t the fact that he got taken down; it was the fact that he got smothered. For a striker, that’s not going to be so hard to out, ‘This is how I don’t get smothered.’ Learn to fight in that clinch, because he has the elbows, he has the knees, he has all that. So he’s going to need to keep his back off the fence, and I do believe they’ve spent enough time working on that. And him taking some time away from the sport was good for him. Sometimes you need to do that to get that reset and get that hunger back.”
And aside from Pereira’s improvements, there’s also the possibility that Ankalaev is flying a bit too close to the Sun. While Ankalaev had plenty of success striking with Pereira in their first fight, he’s been talking a lot about standing with Pereira again, and if he does that, du Plessis thinks he’s going to be in trouble.
“I know Ankalaev says he’s going to strike with him. I don’t think that’s a great idea,” du Plessis said. “I really don’t think that’s a good idea. I really don’t see this fight going the distance this time. I’m putting my money on Pereira to reclaim the belt. I have to go with him.”
UFC 320 takes place on Saturday at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
TOP STORIES
Warning. Matt Brown issues harsh warning to fighters after Wanderlei Silva suffered brutal knockout in post-fight brawl.
Poatan. Alex Pereira responds to Magomed Ankalaev’s coach, possible move to heavyweight.
DWCS. Four contracts awarded after another night of violent finishes on Week 8 of Contender Series.
Suspensions. Wanderlei Silva, Acelino Freitas hit with lengthy suspensions for post-fight brawl.
Speech. Dana White disagrees on crackdown for unpopular speech in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s assassination.
Off. Artem Lobov vs. Zubaira Tukhugov scrapped from PFL card in Dubai at last minute.
VIDEO STEW
Alex Pereira scrum.
UFC 320 Embedded, episode 2.
Alex Pereira fight week vlog.
Sean O’Malley cashes a $1 million check.
SOCIAL MEDIA BOUILLABAISSE
Contender Series contract announcement.
Out of UFC 320.
Derek Brunson wants in.
Marcus McGhee training.
Could be a tactical error though. Judges might think it’s yours.
FINAL THOUGHTS
I still have not decided who I’m picking in this weekend’s main event. I know Big Ank did the thing in their first matchup, but that fight was closer than people remember, and it definitely didn’t look like the best version of Poatan. Maybe that’s because Poatan is just past it now — his last two performances have underwhelmed — but I do think burnout is a real thing.
Either way, I’m becoming increasingly interested in this matchup.
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