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via Imago

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The MMA world came to a standstill after a tweet from Alex Pereira‘s official account claimed that the former 2-division champion was in disarray. He was seemingly frustrated with the long wait for a rematch, claiming that he’s considering retirement. However, Pereira would later reveal that he had no knowledge of what was going on across social media because his account was hacked. “I didn’t even know about it,” ‘Poatan’ stated in a video on social media.

He further added, “I was hacked, and I’ll resolve it. I didn’t even know what was going on. I have a great relationship with the UFC. People like to do bad things, that’s that,” ending his message with his classic catchphrase, “Chama.” Well, it didn’t take time for his rival, Magomed Ankalaev, to take a dig at the Brazilian regarding the situation, hilariously claiming that he was the one behind all of it. And guess what? He even hinted at the Brazilian star that he will get his title opportunity since the alleged hacked tweet had him asking for the matchup.

“It was me I hacked his account Don’t worry, Alex. I’m waiting for you,” Magomed Ankalaev wrote on X. But the champion didn’t stop there, and he wants to add more salt to Pereira’s wound. The 32-year-old put the former champion on blast, claiming that the recent tweet just proved that Pereira may have lost control of his mental faculties after losing the title.

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Well, Ankalaev assured the Brazilian once again that he’s going nowhere. “The only thing was hacked. It’s Alex’s brain. He’s not a champion anymore. I’m waiting for you. Don’t worry,” Ankalaev added.

Well, the fight is almost a done deal as Dana White seemed positive about it. “It was not what I expected,” White said about the bout during the UFC 313 post-fight press conference. “I expected a lot more shooting, I expected a lot more exchanges.” Even though the head honcho was confident in Ankalaev deserving the win, he also acknowledged that Pereira was a great champion, and running it back makes a lot of sense. “Probably [an immediate rematch],” White added.

Moreover, even Pereira seemed confident about his talks with the company for a rematch. “We were confident for this fight. I was well. I trained hard. Some things happened, of course, but I don’t want to give excuses. I know we’ll have the rematch,” Pereira said on his YouTube channel.

But what we don’t know is the date, and many people could argue that Pereira’s frustration in the hacked tweet may be legitimate since he expressed wanting to fight as soon as possible after he lost the belt in March. “I feel good. I don’t think I’m hurt,” Pereira stated in his UFC 313 Octagon interview. With Ankalaev doubling down on being ready to fight him before UFC 317, it could be an indication that the fight will go down sooner rather than later.

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What’s your perspective on:

Is Alex Pereira's mental game slipping, or is Ankalaev just playing mind games with him?

Have an interesting take?

Meanwhile, Ankalaev’s claim poses one question: Is Alex Pereira really in an uneasy state after losing his belt at UFC 313? We don’t know, but a fellow Brazilian fighter claims to have a certain change in Pereira’s status after he dropped the title. Let’s see what he had to say.

Is Alex Pereira losing fans? Renato Moicano explains

Alex Pereira was probably one of the top stars and had fans approaching him in every country he went to. Moreover, his social media handles were exploding, with fans taking keen interest in the variety of content he shares and the collaborations he’s done. However, Renato Moicano claims that ‘Poatan’s loss to Ankalaev caused his YouTube channel to suffer in terms of metrics.

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“Go to Poatan’s YouTube channel and then you check the numbers, my brother… Before the fight against Ankalaev, [Pereira] was f—ing doing huge numbers. His last four days, he’s making little views on his YouTube channel,” Renato Moicano stated last month on his ‘Show Me The Money’ podcast. “Before, when he was champ, even if he doesn’t have a fight, [he got] huge numbers. Yeah, crazy momentum. I just think people love a champion, and the numbers show.”

If Renato Moicano is right, then the rematch is a pretty big deal for Alex Pereira and his status since he was just given ‘The One, The Only’ honor by Bruce Buffer in his last fight. Will he be able to avenge his loss against Magomed Ankalaev? Well, that remains to be seen as we wait for the official announcement from the UFC. Let us know what you think in the comments down below.

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Is Alex Pereira's mental game slipping, or is Ankalaev just playing mind games with him?

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