Has Alex Pereira been subjected to poor judging at UFC 313? The T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas hosted the highly anticipated light-heavyweight clash between Magomed Ankalaev and Alex Pereira. With grit and perseverance, the Dagestani fighter managed to snatch the title away from the Brazilian—but wait, there’s a bit of controversy as well. It looks like Sal D’Amato may have scored the fight rather absurdly, as even Israel Adesanya expressed surprise at the 49-46 decision in favor of Ankalaev.

We witnessed Alex Pereira crumbling against Magomed Ankalaev last night, and so did Israel Adesanya. Reacting to the moment when Ankalaev rocked ‘Poatan,’ Adesanya said, “He got out of position. Watch this; he understands it now. Watch this; you can see it.” This is the first time we have genuinely seen ‘Izzy’ supporting Alex Pereira for the win.

However, when they announced the fight’s verdict, Adesanya was not shocked that Pereira lost; he was more surprised by Sal D’Amato scoring it 49-46. “What was that? He dropped him, yeah—won that round. Two, the whole thing—the holding, there was too much of the holding. What a stupid game we played. I f—– love the day—stupid f—— game.”

There was something off with Alex Pereira last night. The Brazilian was completely outstruck by the Dagestani, even though he had the kickboxing advantage. The second-round jab-cross combination clearly rocked Pereira. After that, Pereira struggled to regain his pace. In his statement, Israel Adesanya added he had Pereira winning the fight, but he will have to watch it again to score it properly.

“I had Alex winning, I’m not sure. I will have to watch it again to score the match properly. Round two might have played a role, given that he dropped him, but holding him against the fence—I don’t really remember him taking any takedowns,” Adesanya said.

Will a rematch between these fighters take place? According to Adesanya, they should run it back: “Yeah, I think they should get a rematch. Pretty sure gets a rematch and spread the block.” 

Pereira’s former nemesis has called his verdict, but what about Dana White? The UFC CEO might have the same thoughts.

Dana White teases Alex Pereira vs. Magomed Ankalaev 2.0

The UFC CEO, Dana White, was clearly unhappy that his favorite fighter couldn’t win the fight. In the videos, we can see him asking Bruce Buffer for the scorecards and as he read them. A visible melancholy appeared on his face. White had plans for Alex Pereira, and all of it has been altered because of his defeat. So, does that mean that the UFC CEO will run the rematch?

When asked about an immediate rematch by the reporters, Dana White had a clever answer.

“Probably [an immediate rematch],” White told reporters after the event. Further adding to his melancholy, the UFC CEO emphasized he was not expecting this outcome: “It was not what I expected. I expected a lot more shooting [for takedowns], I expected a lot more exchanges.”

Alex Pereira appeared troubled inside the Octagon; however, what could be the reasons behind his minimal exchange? State your thoughts in the comments below.