Dana White once said that the UFC will always have a star. There was Chuck Liddell, then Brock Lesnar, then there was Ronda Rousey, and then Conor McGregor walked in and redefined the term. Was the bar raised so high that the promotion is struggling to meet it now? Because UFC 313 saw their current biggest star suffer a major setback.
Last year, Tom Aspinall teased a three-way battle between him, Jon Jones, and Alex Pereira for the heavyweight title—an idea the Brit had for the UFC. Months later, both Jones and Pereira expressed interest in fighting each other, given that they held the titles. While the UFC and Dana White had a perfect plan to keep all three engaged, Magomed Ankalaev may have thrown a wrench into their plans. UFC 313 came out of the syllabus for the UFC CEO as Pereira’s defeat might have altered the timeline for the UFC and several insiders believe it to be so.
While having a conversation on, ‘The Fighter and The Kid,’ former UFC fighter Brendan Schaub emphasized that the UFC 313 card might have been one of the most boring cards in recent times. In addition to that, Schaub highlighted that Alex Pereira’s loss might put the UFC in a dilemma, “The UFC’s in some trouble, man. Hey, name their big star.”
Talking about PPV sales, Schaub asked his co-host which current generation of champions drives the most pay-per-view buys.“Ankalaev? How many pay-per-views is he selling? Two—his mom, his uncle—who else? Who do you want? Pantoja? 125? We don’t give a f—. 135? Who else have you got? Merab[Dvalishvili]? Nah, not happening.” Schaub highlighted that Dricus Du Plessis might have a chance to become the next big thing specifically due to his star power but he further added that the new age champions will be a jolt on the UFC.
He further added, “[Islam]Makhachev is probably their biggest star. Yeah, Pereira is still their most pay-per-view guy, but Makhachev is the biggest star pound-for-pound. And you know, he’s exciting—he’s the one.” When the co-host emphasized that, sooner or later, the entire champion roster would include either a Dagestani or a Chechen, Schaub acted as if he were snoring out of boredom.
March 8, 2025, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA: MAGOMED ANKALAEV 21-1-1, 1 NC of Teletl, Russia defeats ALEX PEREIRA 12-3-0 of SoÂo Paulo, Brazil by unanimous decision 49-46, 48-47, 48-47 during UFC 313 at the T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas Las Vegas USA – ZUMAo117 20250308_zsp_o117_041 Copyright: xMikaelxOnax
Brendan Schaub’s analogy isn’t wrong—MMA fans are eager to see exciting fights centered around striking. However, many fighters from the Russian region rely heavily on wrestling. While this approach provides control of time and takedowns, it often fails to captivate the audience.
As for PPV sales, the only big-name fighters in the top 10 best-selling PPVs list not named Conor McGregor are Jorge Masvidal and Brock Lesnar. Just for comparison, the highest PPV sales after UFC 264: Poirier vs. McGregor 3 in 2021, was UFC 300 in 2024. And the latter had a top to bottom stacked card headlined by Alex Pereira, which is still eclipsed by the Irishman’s star power.
Interestingly, the UFC CEO is in no mood to compromise with his PPV sales as a rematch might be on the cards for Alex Pereira.
Dana White might give Alex Pereira an immediate rematch
Dana White was visibly shaken as he witnessed Magomed Ankalaev defeat Alex Pereira. The spectacle was so intense that, in the background of the Octagon, he could be seen asking Bruce Buffer about it, with both appearing genuinely concerned. At the UFC 313 press conference, White emphasized, “Yeah, it was… not what I expected. I expected a lot more shooting, I expected a lot more exchanges. Yeah…”
When asked about a rematch between the fighters, White answered with a single word, “Probably.” Alex Pereira in his brief to his fans emphasized that he would fight better in a rematch, “Gonna make some adjustments for the rematch, and I’ll be back much better, you can count on it. Never give up on your dreams. Chama.”
Interestingly, Magomed Ankalaev in his statement asserted that he would be more than happy to share the stage with Alex Pereira once again, “@AlexPereiraUFC it was an honor sharing the cage with you, you are a great Champion and your team, your coaches have a lot of class. Let’s run it back anytime you want.” With the stakeholders of the promotion in a mood to run it back again. When do you think, we will be able to witness them fight? State your thoughts in the comments below.
The post “UFC Is in Some Trouble” – Dana White Faces His Nightmare as UFC Veteran Reveals Consequences of Alex Pereira Loss appeared first on EssentiallySports.
