Alex Pereira’s blazé attitude towards guests backstage at UFC 313 last night may have cost him his world title.
The light-heavyweight champion was paid a visit by Mark Zuckerberg just moments before making the walk for his showdown with Magomed Ankalaev. Once photos got out of the exchange, fans immediately began to theorise that Pereira had been struck by the ‘Zuckerberg curse’.
There is a theory in MMA that meeting with Zuckerberg before a fight can cause an otherwise dominant world champion to lose their belt. And lo-and-behold ‘Poatan’ suffered his first defeat since moving up to light-heavyweight.
- Who is Alex Pereira? Get to know the MMA brawler as he lands yet another massive KO at UFC 307
Alex Pereira’s pre-fight visit from Mark Zuckerberg may have been ‘cursed’
Fans immediately began to express their concerns last night when the UFC Espana account shared a photo of Alex Pereira being joined backstage by Mark Zuckerberg. The Meta boss is a massive fight fan, and has even competed in jiu-jitsu with an eye to eventually having a fight.
However, his luck when it comes to supporting fighters has not been great, with fans theorising that his backing comes with a ‘Zuckerberg curse’. He famously trained and took photos with Israel Adesanya and Alexander Volkanovski in the summer of 2023.
Within moths of those sessions, both men had lost their world titles at middleweight and featherweight respectively. Since then, neither Adesanya or Volkanovski who were once completely dominant, have won a fight.
After the fight last night, fans immediately began to reshare the photo and recall that his record with fighters is not good. “It’s hilarious that every time Zuckerberg picks a UFC fight, they lose,” one user wrote alongside photos showing the Meta boss with Volkanovski, Pereira and Mackenzie Dern.
Rapper Drake holds a similar ‘curse’ for fighters
Mark Zuckerberg isn’t the only celebrity known for having a curse when it comes to the UFC. Rapper Drake also is known to all but guarantee a defeat for anybody whom he backs to win inside the octagon or the boxing ring.
He is known for placing massive money bets on fights, but almost always losing when it comes to the UFC or boxing. Drake famously bet on Mike Tyson to beat Jake Paul back in November, and posed for a photo with Conor McGregor before his fight with Floyd Mayweather.
He also bet on Israel Adesanya to beat Sean Strickland in one of the first fights that started the ‘Zuckerberg curse’. He put $950,000 on the champio to retain his belt.
- Who is Dana White? All you need to know about the CEO and President of the UFC