Alex Pereira addresses Joe Rogan's claims he fought ill and with an injury at UFC 313
03/26/2025 06:11 PM
Former UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira was asked about Joe Rogan’s assertions that he was badly compromised entering UFC 313.
Alex Pereira‘s history-making UFC light heavyweight title reign came to an abrupt conclusion at the hands of Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 313 earlier this month. After three successful title defenses in 2024, Pereira suffered his first light heavyweight defeat by unanimous decision as Ankalaev continued his unbeaten streak.
It was a disappointing setback for Pereira after becoming the fastest to earn multiple UFC titles in the promotion’s history. For the first time since a loss to Israel Adesanya at UFC 287, Pereira left the Octagon without a victory.
After Pereira’s loss, many questioned what went wrong against Ankalaev at UFC 313 and what led to his at-times low output in the cage. Joe Rogan, during a recent episode of his podcast, revealed multiple issues that might’ve affected Pereira’s fight camp.
Alex Pereira clears the air on rumors he was sick and hurt before UFC 313 loss
Rogan claimed that Pereira suffered a broken hand and a bout of norovirus that nearly forced him out of UFC 313 entirely. But true to his relentless activity in his career, Pereira moved forward and nearly stopped Ankalaev’s unbeaten run.
After Rogan’s claims made waves online, Pereira addressed them in his first interview since UFC 313.
In a recent appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show, Pereira responded to Rogan’s claims.
“I’m not trying to take anything away from Ankalaev, many people try to do that type of thing, I’m not this type of guy,” Pereira said. “Everyone goes through their own problems, I’m sure he had his own problems too. My hand is fine, but there are a lot of things that happened, but I’m not using them as excuses.
“I’m not trying to use this as leverage for anything. My moment will come when I win the belt, and then I’ll disclose everything… yes, [I considered withdrawing]…I don’t regret it because I’ve motivated a lot of people. And anytime I’ve pushed through things, I was able to overcome. Many times it worked, but this time it wasn’t my moment. No regrets.”
This isn’t the first time that Pereira has fought hurt in his UFC career. Ahead of recent title fights against Jiri Prochazka and Khalil Rountree Jr., Pereira suffered from multiple foot injuries that might’ve forced other athletes to withdraw from the fights.
But despite his ailments, Pereira headlined three cards in 2024, including UFC 300 opposite Jamahal Hill.
Alex Pereira’s former rival labeled a ‘fraud’ by Magomed Ankalaev
Luckily for Pereira, he has the opportunity to take his time and heal up ahead of a potential rematch with Ankalaev. Almost immediately after UFC 313, Ankalaev agreed to grant Pereira a rematch, and the two sides verbally agreed to it in separate social media posts.
Another name to watch in the UFC light heavyweight title picture is Prochazka, who bounced back from the loss to Pereira with an impressive finish of Hill at UFC 311. Prochazka and Ankalaev have traded barbs in recent days, including Ankalaev labeling Prochazka a ‘fraud’ in a post-UFC 313 tweet.
But despite Prochazka’s win, Pereira will likely get the chance to run it back with Ankalaev later this year. In the interview with Helwani, Pereira and his coach Plinio Cruz pitched for a rematch to take place sometime in August.
