Alex Pereira knew he didn’t walk out of UFC 320 unscathed, and he has gotten an official diagnosis.
Pereira handled business in his rematch with Magomed Ankalaev, reclaiming the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship via first-round TKO. While “Poatan” got his revenge, he told reporters that he believed he suffered a broken foot during the bout that barely lasted over one minute.
During a UFC Rio Q&A session, Pereira gave an update on his injury (h/t MMAFighting).
“I did an X-Ray in Las Vegas and an MRI here and we have a fracture on my foot, but I still don’t know what will happen, or how long it will take for me to recover,” Pereira said at a Q&A in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, ahead of Saturday’s UFC Rio event. “I think it’s good to focus on this White House [date], it’s something that interests me. I think I’ll focus on this.”
Despite his injury, Pereira felt he could’ve stayed in the rematch against Ankalaev for a longer period of time. He even joked about not being able to deliver a Nate Diaz-esque move on his opponent.
“It was a great sensation,” Pereira said. “We train hard for that. We want to be in there and give our best, be the best. I landed a clean punch before the elbows and he came grabbing my legs. There was an opening and my elbow landed clean. When I landed the first one and saw blood, I started hitting and the referee stopped it. But I think it could have gone a little longer because I promised to slap his face and I couldn’t do that.”
Pereira will be out of action until 2026, but he remains hopeful for a spot on the UFC White House card. “Poatan” has expressed interest in facing Jon Jones at the historic event. Whether or not the UFC brass will book the fight will be an interesting question that looms over the MMA community.