Now-former undisputed light heavyweight champion, Alex Pereira has taken a sizeable tumble down the official pound-for-pound rankings following his UFC 313 loss to Magomed Ankalaev over the weekend, to much fan disagreement and discourse.
Pereira, a former undisputed middleweight champion to boot, dropped his light heavyweight crown over the weekend in a contentious and debated unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 49-46) loss to surging challenger, Ankalaev.
Alex Pereira takes sizeable tumble in UFC pound-for-pound rankings list
And once sat as high as number three in the official pound-for-pound rankings up until the weekend loss, Pereira has shockingly stumbled all the way down to number eight in the pile, below the likes of Belal Muhammad, and Dricus du Plessis.
Furthermore, newly-crowned gold holder, Ankalaev has debuted in the pound-for-pound rankings — assuming the number six position off the bat.
🚨 The UFC men's pound-for-pound rankings have been updated following #UFC313
Magomed Ankalaev debuts at #6 PFP, and Alex Pereira falls 5 spots to #8 pic.twitter.com/qeFHEnr7r4
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) March 11, 2025
Arguing his case for a decision victory in his favor in the immediate aftermath of the UFC 313 headliner, Pereira noted how he defended eleven takedowns from Ankalaev, and questioned what damage he suffered in the matchup.
“Putting me up against the cage, he (Ankalaev) didn’t really do anything,” Pereira told Joe Rogan during his post-fight interview through an interpreter. “Giving him the win with a gameplan like that, it incentivizes people to do that.”
However, overnight, Pereira may already have his wish of an immediate rematch, with Ankalaev returning to Dagestan where he revealed “negotiations” were already tabled for him to fight the Brazilian next.
Negotiations are already underway regarding a rematch,” Magomed Ankalaev told, according to Ushatayka. “It’s not yet known who will be next, but we agreed in advance, if they [Alex Pereira and his team] want a rematch then we are ready.”
