UFC 319 is officially in the books after a memorable night in Chicago that saw Khamzat Chimaev crowned the new middleweight champion and Dricus du Plessis suffer his first UFC defeat. The card delivered plenty of talking points, including Lerone Murphy’s brutal spinning back elbow knockout of debutant Aaron Pico, coming right after Carlos Prates had flattened Geoff Neal with the exact same move. While the fallout from the event continues, fans are already shifting their focus to what’s next. With no numbered card in September, the UFC will return in October with a major pay-per-view.

Khamzat Chimaev won the middleweight title by unanimous decision (scorecards: 50–44, 50–44, 50–44), a dominant display of grappling control that many analysts said left little doubt about the outcome. The result immediately reshapes the 185-lb picture: contenders such as Reinier de Ridder and Anthony Hernandez have publicly positioned themselves as next in line, while the UFC’s fall schedule now looks to use upcoming main events to sort the challengers.

Before Tom Aspinall defends his heavyweight crown against Ciryl Gane in Abu Dhabi at UFC 321, Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena will host UFC 320 on October 4. The event features a championship double-header, with Magomed Ankalaev’s rematch against Alex Pereira for the light heavyweight strap headlining and Merab Dvalishvili putting his bantamweight title on the line against Cory Sandhagen in the co-main event. So now, as Alex Pereira looks to settle the score and reclaim gold, his training camp has now provided fans with a fresh update.

Alex Pereira sets the pace ahead of everyone

Earlier today, Teixeira MMA & Fitness shared a series of Instagram stories showing the team’s usual training routine. Among the clips was a glimpse of Alex Pereira working on his cardio. The video, captioned “alexpoatanpereira leading the pack 🏃🏻👊🏻,” showed Pereira in yellow shorts running alongside his coach Glover Teixeira, with six more teammates following closely behind.

From battling alcoholism to stepping into a gym at 21 to fight off his inner demons, Alex Pereira’s journey has been nothing short of inspirational. In just seven UFC appearances, he captured titles in two divisions and defended the light heavyweight belt three times. But his dominant run came to a halt earlier this year when he lost the championship to Magomed Ankalaev, and the 12-3 fighter immediately called for a rematch.

Interestingly, at the same time, his name has also caught the attention of Karate Combat. During a recent appearance on Home of Fight, Karate Combat CEO Asim Zaidi was asked: “Do you have any, like, maybe dream UFC fighters that you would love to see come in here?” Without hesitation, Zaidi named the ‘Poatan’, a natural choice, given his ties to the promotion.

If that wasn’t enough, Zaidi went on to say: “You know what? It’ll happen one day. I know it will. When he’s done, Alex Pereira said that he needs to fight in the Pit before his career is over. And one day, when he maybe becomes a triple champ in the UFC, we’ll get him here in the Pit to say goodbye.” Now, with just two months left before his rematch, Alex Pereira appears determined to give everything he has inside the cage. Yet, away from the Octagon, there remains another battle in his life that shows no clear path to victory.

Alex Pereira’s ex stirs drama with Karate Combat

Alex Pereira has largely kept quiet about his personal life, especially following his very public split from longtime girlfriend Merle Christine in late 2023. While Pereira appeared to move forward, Christine continued to take shots at him on social media. However, the tension escalated after Magomed Ankalaev took the light heavyweight crown from Pereira, prompting Christine to post a video online that reignited their feud.

In the clip, Christine signed off with the phrase “no chama,” sparking a wave of reactions. Many fans rallied behind the 38-year-old, with even Conor McGregor stepping in to criticize Christine’s remarks. Still, the drama didn’t end there. Reports soon emerged that Karate Combat had blacklisted Christine from attending events, which she answered with a furious social media post: “Karate Combat most unprofessional organisation ever. Got blacklisted as a visitor just because the CEO is licking the ba–s of famous UFC fighters who don’t want me at the event, looool.” She followed up with another message aimed at Pereira, warning, “karma is coming anyway.”

Despite the noise, Alex Pereira has chosen not to respond publicly to Christine’s latest claims. The ongoing feud shows no signs of slowing down, but for now, the former champion remains silent. That said, leaving this problem aside, do you think Alex Pereira would be able to win against the current UFC light heavyweight champion?