“He Did What Needed to Be Done” – Joe Rogan Reacts to Magomed Ankalaev’s Victory Over Alex Pereira
Joe Rogan thinks Magomed Ankalaev did exactly what he needed to do to defeat Alex Pereira.
It was by no means fun to watch, but Ankalaev’s strategy of high pressure and a lot of grappling against the fence led him to his first world title, defeating Pereira via unanimous decision in the UFC 313 headliner on Saturday night.
Immediately following the festivities, Rogan offered his take on Ankalaev’s performance, noting twice that the Dagestani “did what he had to” to leave ‘Sin City’ as the new light heavyweight champion.
“Now he’s the UFC Light Heavyweight champ of the world, against the most devastating champion we’ve seen in years. I mean, it’s really an impressive performance by Ankalaev. He did everything he had to do—he pressured him on the feet, he showed that Pereira has a harder time fighting off the back foot, and he did what had to be done.”
Alex Pereira eyes immediate rematch with Ankalaev
‘Poatan’ was not as forgiving in his post-fight interview, condemning the judges for awarding Ankalaev the win after he logged five minutes of total control time and went 0 for 12 on takedown attempts. To be fair, Anakalev did outstrike Pereira by a margin of 127 to 97.
In the days since, rumors have circulated that Pereira may have been suffering from the norovirus and possibly a broken hand, explaining his lackluster performance. However, Pereira has not offered any excuses for the loss and is instead focusing in reclaiming the light heavyweight title in an immediate rematch.
“That’s it, everyone. Some marks. But I’m good,” Pereira said in a video statement on Instagram. “Going to rest a bit. I’ll be back, like I’ve always done. This has already happened (before). Life continues. Thank you to my team. Gonna make some adjustments for the rematch, and I’ll be back much better. You can count on it. Never give up on your dreams. Chama.”
