Alex Pereira drops new training footage before UFC 313 fight with Magomed Ankalaev

"Poatan" will try to defend his UFC title for a fourth time on Saturday night.

Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

Alex Pereira looks to be as sharp as ever ahead of his UFC 313 title defense against Magomed Ankalaev.

Pereira's Rise To UFC Stardom

A former two-division kickboxing champion in GLORY, Pereira dabbled in MMA during his kickboxing career but fully committed himself to the new sport in 2021 when he joined the UFC and stopped Andreas Michailidis to bring his record to 4-1.

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“Poatan” collected two more wins before being booked into a title fight with former GLORY rival Israel Adesanya, and while Pereira claimed UFC gold via dramatic fifth-round finish at UFC 281 the Brazilian was stopped in an immediate rematch with Adesanya five months later.

Alex Pereira fights Israel Adesanya during UFC 287 at Miami-Dade Arena. / Rich Storry-Imagn Images

Pereira rebounded from that setback when he moved up to light heavyweight and defeated former titleholder Jan Błachowicz, and at UFC 295 the 37-year-old became a two-division UFC champion with a stoppage-win over Jiří Procházka to claim the vacant light heavyweight belt.

Jiri Prochazka fights Alex Pereira during UFC 295 at Madison Square Garden. / Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

"Poatan" Drops Fight Week Training Video

Now set to try and defend his belt for a fourth time at UFC 313 opposite #1-ranked Ankalaev, Pereira shared some training footage with fans just days out from his first fight of 2025.

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A post shared by Alex "Poatan" Pereira (@alexpoatanpereira)

The Brazilian’s striking skills and devastating knockout power have helped make him arguably the biggest active star in the UFC, but questions remain around Pereira’s takedown defense and how he might fair if a grappler as talented as Ankalaev is able to bring him to the mat for an extended period.

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UFC 313 will mark the second time Ankalaev has had a crack at UFC gold, as the 32-year-old famously fought to a draw with Błachowicz at UFC 282 but is now riding the momentum of back-to-back wins over top contenders Johnny Walker and Aleksandar Rakić.

Jan Blachowicz fights Magomed Ankalaev during UFC 282 at T-Mobile Arena. / Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

Pereira vs. Ankalaev is the only title fight scheduled to go down at UFC 313 in Las Vegas, NV on Saturday, but the co-main event does feature a pivotal lightweight rematch between Justin Gaethje and Rafael Fiziev after Dan Hooker was forced to withdraw from a planned fight with Gaethje less than two weeks out from the event.

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