Mar 8, 2025; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Alex Pereira (red gloves) fights Magomed Ankalaev (blue gloves) during UFC 313 at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

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‘He Felt Disrespected’ – Ariel Helwani Feels Alex Pereira Had Reasons for Not Accepting the Magomed Ankalaev Rematch for UFC 317

Learn All the Details Behind Why Ariel Helwani Feels That Alex Pereira Rejected His Match Against Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 317.

Mar 8, 2025; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Alex Pereira (red gloves) fights Magomed Ankalaev (blue gloves) during UFC 313 at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

Alex “Poatan” Pereira and the UFC do not presently seem to have a good working relationship. The former Light Heavyweight Champion has not been seen inside the Octagon since March 8, 2025 he lost the title to Magomed Ankalaev.

Additionally, Alex Pereira had also posted some tweets on X that were later removed. Pereira claimed that he was hacked at the time. However, Ariel Helwani has felt that that is not the full story. He felt that the UFC might have done something to upset Alex Pereira. This led “Poatan” to reject his rematch against Magomed Anakalev at UFC 317. So what does the sports journalist think?

Ariel Helwani Believes the UFC Might Have Disrespected Alex Pereira in Some Way

Ariel Helwani talked about the recent issues about Alex Pereira and the UFC on The Ariel Helwani Show. He revealed that Alex Pereira has declined his rematch against Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 317 due to his unavailability at the time. Alex Pereira has posted some tweets against the company on X that showed he was upset with them. Moreover, he also hinted at retirement. However, he later removed them and revealed that his account was hacked. Moreover, Magomed Anakalev also posted on his X account that he is ready for other challengers since Alex Pereira has refused to fight against him.

This is where Ariel Helwani felt that something suspicious had happened and there is more to the story. Helwani felt that Pereira’s account was not really hacked and he indeed tweeted those posts. That showed he felt disrespected by the company. However, the sports journalist fully supported Alex Pereira if he felt disrespected by the UFC (via Happy Punch on Instagram). Ariel Helwani pointed out that Pereira has every reason to feel disrespected by the UFC. He has been one of the best fighters for the UFC for the last two-years. Moreover, he also fought three-times within six months in 2024.

Ariel Helwani Suggested That the UFC Failed To Have a Proper Conversation With Alex Pereira

Ariel Helwani felt that there was a miscommunication of some kind between both parties. Helwani has also presented two theories regarding his feelings. It might have been that the UFC had earlier planned the fight in August but then decided to pre-pone it to June. Alex Pereira notably, did not like such a short notice and rejected it (via Happy Punch on Instagram).

Ariel Helwani’s second theory was the more disheartening one. He revealed that the UFC might not have been willing to Alex Pereira a rematch. They instead wanted one of Pereira’s rivals to have the match against Magomed Ankalaev. This would become even more reason for Alex Pereira to feel disrespected by the UFC.

Alex “Poatan” Pereira’s fans can only hope their Poatan return to the Octagon very soon. The UFC would receive a negative blow if the former Middleweight and Light Heavyweight Champion leaves the company.

Alex Pereira

Magomed Ankalaev

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UFC 317

Arka Mukherjee

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I’m a sports content writer focusing on MMA, WWE and MLB writer at The Playoffs. I have a Master’s degree in Media Science (M.Sc) from my college The Heritage Academy. I got into the sports industry through my previous company where I worked from 2023 to March 2025. I’m a fan of combat sports like pro wrestling and MMA. My favorite part about working at The Playoffs is speculating what can be happening in WWE, especially face-heel turns and results of matches.