Dricus Du Plessis trusts Alex Pereira won’t repeat the mistakes he made in the first clash with Magomed Ankalaev.
Pereira is set to run it back with reigning light heavyweight champion Ankalaev in the UFC 320 main event on October 4 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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The two first met at UFC 313 in March, where "Poatan" showcased his stellar takedown defense by shutting down all 12 of Ankalaev’s attempts to bring the fight to the mat. Despite neutralizing the his opponent's wrestling, Pereira found himself on the wrong side of the striking exchanges, as the Russian edged him across five rounds to claim the 205-pound title.
Dricus Du Plessis Believes Alex Pereira Will Defeat Magomed Ankalaev In UFC 320 Rematch
During a recent interview with Fight Forecast, Dricus Du Plessis shared his thoughts on the upcoming UFC 320 clash between Magomed Ankalaev and Alex Pereira. The former middleweight champion credited Ankalaev for emerging victorious at UFC 313 but warned that “Poatan” will return sharper, and far more dangerous in the rematch as he looks to reclaim his crown.
I've been looking at the training footage of Pereira for this one." Du Plessis said. "He looks scary. He looks angry. And, you know, we'll see what that loss did to him. He has come back from a loss and came back to reclaim the title, but, this fight is a big fight for him. Ankalaev now has that confidence, of course, of being the champion. But, I'm going to go with Pereira on this one.
“Stillknocks” went on to say he believes Pereira has addressed the weaknesses that cost him in their first encounter and is confident the Brazilian will correct those mistakes to finish Ankalaev at UFC 320.
It wasn't the fact that he got taken down. It's the fact that he got smothered… He's going to need to keep his back off the fence, and I do believe that they've spent enough time working on that. Him taking some time away from the sport was good for him… I really don't see this fight going the distance this time, but I'm putting my money on Alex Pereira to claim the title. I have to go with him.
Before his loss to Ankalaev, Alex Pereira successfully defended the light heavyweight title three times in 2024, scoring back-to-back knockout victories over Khalil Rountree Jr., Jiri Prochazka, and Jamahal Hill. “Poatan” now boasts a 9-2 UFC record, with seven of those wins coming via devastating knockouts.
