Alex Pereira suffered only the third loss of his career, and first in his last six fights -- a unanimous decision against Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 313 on Saturday. But with his future potentially at heavyweight, does this loss really matter?
Justin Gaethje revived his career with a unanimous decision victory over Rafael Fiziev in the co-main event. It was a rematch of Gaethje's majority decision victory two years ago at UFC 286 and showed that "The Highlight" still has something to offer, but will he ever win a championship?
In the opening fight of the PPV card, Mauricio Ruffy made a little bit of history with his wheel kick knockout of King Green, and a title fight could be in the cards as soon as next year if he continues winning.
Brett Okamoto and Andreas Hale share their thoughts on these fights.
Alex Pereira losing doesn't matter as much as you think it does
I know, it feels like a very, very big deal -- for good reason. This was ESPN's 2024 Fighter of the Year. He's one of the biggest stars on the UFC roster, and he has been one of their most reliable champions. When the UFC was in a bind last year, and it certainly happened more than once, Pereira answered the call and did so spectacularly. Pereira losing, to a challenger who isn't a household name, feels large.
But what Pereira gets from this is something he needs, something he tends to refuse to take. He needs a break. Time is not on his side in terms of how many more fights he has on him, so he needs to make them count. Take a breather. He just appeared in five title fights in less than 500 days. Let him take a break ... and in the meantime, let's see what happens at heavyweight with Jon Jones and Tom Aspinall.
Whoever wins that massive fight will call out Pereira. I guarantee it. And even if the public's last memory of Pereira is him losing to Ankalaev, it won't matter. It'll be one of the biggest fights the UFC has put on in recent memory. Obviously, it would have been ideal if Pereira had maintained his belt and then moved up, but the truth is, his future after this fight was at heavyweight anyway. And now it still is, and it's just as big. -- Okamoto
"The Highlight" has a few more highlights left in him
Justin Gaethje grabs a huge win over Rafael Fiziev in his return to the Octagon.
Any questions regarding how much tread was left on the tires of Justin Gaethje's career were answered on Saturday night.
Gaethje won a decision over late-replacement Rafael Fiziev in a fan-friendly fight that is always expected from him. But the bigger takeaway is that the 36-year-old's chin is still intact after suffering a devastating knockout to Max Holloway last April at UFC 300. Gaethje absorbed punches and kicks from a dynamic striker and didn't appear to suffer any ill effects from being stopped by Holloway.
That was the biggest concern for Gaethje heading into UFC 313 and likely the reason that he closed as the betting underdog against a short-notice opponent. The mileage he has put on his body courtesy of multiple ferocious bouts drew concerns that he was on his last legs. But that is not the case. In fact, there are a lot of highlights left in the career of a fighter whose nickname is deservedly "The Highlight."
Gaethje has become one of those fighters who doesn't need a world title to be an attraction. Outside of Pereira, he had the loudest crowd reaction of the night and earned his ninth Fight of the Night bonus against Fiziev. It's an outrageous accomplishment to have won 14 post-fight bonuses (Fight of the Night or Performance of the Night) in his 14 fights since joining the UFC in 2017, and there's significant value in placing Gaethje on fight cards for the UFC as long as he isn't completely worn down.
Maybe the Holloway knockout with one second left in the final round was an aberration and not a sign of things to come. And that's a good thing because the options are plentiful for Gaethje whenever he decides to step back into the Octagon.
Since 2021, Gaethje has fought Michael Chandler, Charles Oliveira, Dustin Poirier, Max Holloway and Fiziev (twice). Although he's not currently in line to face lightweight champion Islam Makhachev, the UFC's No. 3 ranked lightweight still has options. He could fight his original UFC 313 opponent, Dan Hooker, who was forced to withdraw on Feb. 25 with a hand injury. Or he could take on Paddy Pimblett, Renato Moicano or even rising lightweight Mauricio Ruffy, who scored an impressive KO victory on the same card. He's likely only a fight away from a title shot but none of that matters as long as his body still allows him to compete at a high level. He'll probably never be favored to win the lightweight championship but his career is almost certainly bound for the Hall of Fame. -- Hale
The Fighting Nerds are officially must-see
And if you say I'm late to this, fine. I'm late to this. It's not news this team has been taking the sport by fire. At this point, just about everyone recognizes the glasses, and the tactical, sniping fighting style. The wins. The finishes. But I couldn't go all the way in because the sample size was simply too small. I have watched this team for a while but felt like I was still waiting to see if the flashy style continued to produce substance.
But after this week, sign me up for an entire show on these guys. Jean Silva completely stole the show at the UFC 314 news conference, going after Bryce Mitchell the way he did. After the recent headlines Mitchell made, whoever fought him next had plenty of material, and Silva didn't hold back. And he did it with a lot of energy. You contrast that with Silva's chill, laid back, cigarette-smoking teammate Carlos Prates, who is coming off arguably a Breakout of the Year campaign in 2024, and now Mauricio Ruffy dropping only the fifth wheel kick knockout in UFC lightweight history in his win over King Green -- this team is as entertaining as it gets.
And that's without even mentioning middleweight contender Caio Borralho, who could conceivably fight for a UFC title within the next 12 months.
Ruffy, Borralho, Prates, Silva and Bruna Brasil are the Fighting Nerds fighters to compete in the UFC. They have a combined record of 20-3 with 11 KOs and one submission.
This team is far, far more than a glasses gimmick and a few solid finishes. They always were; I'm just ready to declare it now. -- Okamoto