Alex Pereira has been playing the role of the UFC’s go-to savior, always stepping up when the promotion needed him the most. Whether it was coming in clutch at UFC 303 after Conor McGregor pulled out of his fight with Michael Chandler, or showing up at UFC 307 to spice up an otherwise lackluster card, ‘Poatan’ has consistently delivered when the spotlight called. He’s answered the UFC’s requests without much fuss and kept fans entertained. But the table’s turned now, for the same can’t be said for UFC 317…

International Fight Week feels like a Rubik’s Cube, which is colorful and exciting, but also tricky to figure out. Ilia Topuria threw his name into the mix early on, but things really started heating up when Alex Pereira’s name got tossed in. The buzz went up a notch when Magomed Ankalaev jumped in on X, saying, “I was offered to fight Alex International Fight Week. If the man don’t want it, let’s move on. I’m ready for everyone. I dare you.” That callout just added another layer to the chaos.

There’s been no official word from ‘Poatan’ himself on whether he was actually offered the UFC 317 headliner. But veteran MMA journalist Ariel Helwani confirmed on his show that Pereira was approached for the fight and turned it down, because the former light heavyweight champ felt the timing just wasn’t right.

“As of right now, they don’t have any main event for the International Fight Week. According to what I’m hearing, what Magomed Ankalaev tweeted was in fact accurate. They did in fact called Alex Pereira and said, ‘Hey, we want you to fight Magomed Ankalaev on International Fight Week. (Reads Ankalaev’s Tweet). It’s not like he doesn’t want it. Unavailable! The timeline is not working.”

‘Poatan’ and Ankalaev have already verbally agreed to run it back in August. And honestly, Pereira isn’t the kind of guy who turns down fights without a good reason. He’s built a reputation as the UFC’s go-to event saver. So if he passed on UFC 317, there’s likely a solid explanation behind it. Maybe he’s deep in training, has an undisclosed injury, or is simply pacing himself.

Helwani added, “This is the guy you’re gonna question? This is the guy who fought three times last year in the span of six months last year? Four times in the span of I think 11 months? The plan is August, and now they’re scrambling for whatever reason, they said, ‘let’s see if he’s available in June!”

That’s a fair point by Helwani; Alex Pereira has been pushing his body to the absolute limit with his recent schedule, having fought four times in under a year, with each being nothing short of a war. At some point, the man’s got to hit pause, right? So now, with the International Fight Week main event spot seemingly up for grabs, former UFC featherweight champ Ilia Topuria is starting to look like the frontrunner to claim that.

Coming back to Pereira, it raised a few eyebrows when he posted on X accusing the UFC of disrespecting him, only to later walk it back with a simple excuse. The whole thing felt a little odd. But according to Ariel Helwani, the story might not be so simple. He believes the former light heavyweight champ was being honest the first time around.

Ariel Helwani believes Alex Pereira was honestly disrespected by the UFC

Alex Pereira isn’t typically one to show a lot of emotion when he speaks, so fans were genuinely shocked when he posted on X accusing the UFC of disrespecting him, especially after everything he’s done for the promotion. The post quickly sparked debate: Was ‘Poatan’ being sincere, or had his account really been hacked, as he later claimed?

Daniel Cormier was skeptical, suggesting that the “hacked” explanation felt a little too convenient. Now, Ariel Helwani has weighed in on his show, proposing that Pereira likely made the post himself, possibly out of frustration. He said, “Yeah, but I hate to say it, I don’t think he was hacked! I hate to say it. I think he was disrespected! I hate to say it, but I think that was him who tweeted that. Or at least he told someone to tweet it. And I hate to say it, he should feel that way!” 

Helwani later theorized that Pereira may have gotten upset because the promotion either wanted him to fight two months earlier than expected, or they were planning to give him a different matchup before granting him an immediate rematch. “Did they say, ‘hey we’re going on in a different direction’? Or ‘Maybe we are going to give the title fight to one of your rivals, to the next man up, someone that you beat a couple of time’ did that pi–ed him off? ‘Oh we’re gonna move this up to months, yeah that would pi–s him off!”

Helwani doesn’t outright mention it, but it’s fairly clear he’s referring to Jiri Prochazka, who has taken some verbal shots at the current champion and was also defeated by Pereira a couple of times. With that in mind, do you think we’ll see a light heavyweight main event at UFC 317? Drop your thoughts below!