Finally, light at the end of the tunnel. It’s been two weeks since Dana White confirmed the highly anticipated rematch between Alex Pereira and Magomed Ankalaev. The announcement came amid swirling rumors of Pereira’s possible move to heavyweight and even speculation that he might not be interested in a second bout. But the rematch is now official. Pereira and Ankalaev are set to square off at UFC 320, scheduled for October 22 at the T-Mobile Arena. The very venue where the Sao Paulo native lost his light heavyweight title to the Russian.

Pereira’s performance in their first encounter on March 8 is one he’s likely eager to improve upon. In the UFC 313 headliner, Magomed Ankalaev outclassed him over five rounds to earn a unanimous victory. Understandably, ahead of the rematch, now just over two months away, Pereira should leave no stone unturned. Despite his knockout power, many analysts still favor the Russian Sambo specialist in the sequel. And perhaps that explains why Pereira appears focused on sharpening his ground game. His recent Instagram stories subtly hint at that direction.

In the clips, Alex Pereira can be seen grappling intensely with various training partners. The mats were soaked in sweat. In one sequence, he attempts to escape a tight side control held by his coach and mentor, Glover Teixeira. Another clip shows Pereira working through a triangle choke before defending against a transition into an Ezekiel choke. In another slide, a different training partner applies pressure with a rear-naked choke. It was evident that the goal was to give Alex Pereira live feedback on his ground technique under realistic pressure. The final slide showed Glover Teixeira addressing the team while marking his 22nd wedding anniversary.

After the first fight, Dana White offered a blunt breakdown of how it played out: “I wouldn’t take anything from Ankalaev and the pressure he put on Alex tonight. [He] kept pushing forward. Even in the fifth round, I was listening on the headphones, and Alex’s corner was saying, ‘You’ve got to go after him this round. You have to let everything go. You’ve got to let your hands go. You’ve got to try to take him out.”

So it goes without saying that Pereira has his work cut out for him. He’ll need to correct the mistakes from their first encounter and ensure they don’t happen again.

A tall task for Alex Pereira, yet not an impossible one

And a few backers believe Alex Pereira could potentially turn the tables on Magomed Ankalaev when they meet again in October. One of them, fellow Brazilian mixed martial artist Caio Borralho, is also preparing for his own return. On September 6, Borralho will headline UFC Fight Night 258, set to take place in Paris, France. During a quick catch-up with reporter Helen Yee at the UFC Performance Institute, the 32-year-old Sao Paulo native shared his thoughts on the upcoming Pereira–Ankalaev rematch. According to Borralho, Alex Pereira wasn’t at full fitness during their first encounter. While he acknowledged Magomed Ankalaev’s fight IQ and composure inside the Octagon, Borralho suggested that, given how the previous bout ended, Pereira might carry an edge heading into the rematch.

“I think the fight will be mostly the same,” Caio Borralho said. “But I think Alex could pressure a little bit more because now Alex knows that he can defend the takedowns because he defended a lot of takedowns in the first fight. I’m sorry. So I think right now he can take risks; he can take the risk to bring more pressure to Ankalaev to find that knockout and all that, and then I think the fight will be better for him after he does that.”

There’s still time before this high-stakes rematch unfolds. If Alex Pereira continues refining his ground game, he could very well set the record straight and reinforce his status as one of the UFC’s premier stars.

What’s your take? Can Pereira turn the tables on Ankalaev in the rematch?