Alex Pereira has once again shocked MMA fans online — this time before even stepping into the Octagon.
The UFC light heavyweight champion officially weighed in at 204.5 pounds on Friday morning ahead of his UFC 320 main event rematch against Magomed Ankalaev, set for Saturday, the 4th of October at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The light heavyweight championship clash headlines a 14-fight card also featuring Merab Dvalishvili’s bantamweight title defense against Cory Sandhagen, and Jiri Prochazka vs Khalil Rountree Jr. at light heavyweight.
The Pereira–Ankalaev rivalry began earlier this year, when Ankalaev marched to a convincing decision win atop UFC 313, halting the Brazilian’s momentum in the 205-pound division. That result punctuated Ankalaev’s credentials as an elite mixed martial artist and raised questions over whether Pereira could close the skill gap in their second meeting.
This weekend’s rematch promises answers. Ankalaev looks to defend his crown and prove his pressure and grappling can again neutralize Pereira’s striking — but before fight night even arrived, something else grabbed everyone’s attention and left fans stunned across social media: Pereira’s extraordinary weight gain.
Alex Pereira’s Insane Overnight Weight Gain
Pereira posted footage of him re-weighing on the morning of the fight, and his gain is an extraordinary 27.9 pounds of weight. Earlier in July, Pereira weighed 243 pounds, which suggested he’d need to lose a little less than 40 pounds to be fighting fit for the Ankalaev fight. And, after the weigh-in, he’s put almost all that weight back on.
See Pereira’s re-weigh Saturday right here:
It’s a gain of almost 30 pounds (27.9 pounds to be exact).
MMA fans online reacted in a myriad of ways. One commentor said the gain was “not healthy” and added: “I wish they did away with weight cutting.” Another, though, opined that this indicated that Ankalaev is in danger of getting knocked out. “One hit and the Russian is out, trust me,” they said.
Elsewhere, one fan said that such an extraordinary weight gain “should be illegal,” perhaps because of how Pereira is now the size of a fully-fledged heavyweight. “Weight cutting ruins combat sports.”
Win or lose, Pereira’s run at light heavyweight could be coming to an end. There are few stars at heavyweight, and should Pereira score revenge over Ankalaev, a move to join the big men in UFC could be on the cards — particularly as the UFC could book a must-see bout involving the two-weight champion against the heavyweight king; Tom Aspinall.
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