Alex Pereira was one of the most active champions in the UFC.
While Jon Jones has defended his heavyweight title once in the two years since he won it, Pereira put the 205-pound gold on the line four times in 16 months.
2024 saw ‘Poatan’ go 3-0, knocking out Jamahal Hill, Jiri Prochazka, and Khalil Rountree to enhance his legacy and continue his reign.
Pereira became renowned for ‘saving’ the UFC, but his frequent activity did seem to take its toll.
From a broken toe before UFC 300 that he trained through for a quick return at UFC 303 to a litany of health issues pre-UFC 307, ‘Poatan’ was evidently never at 100 percent.
That led to talk of such issues playing into Pereira’s defeat to Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 313 in March, with reports of a hand injury and battle with norovirus emerging.
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Don Frye advises Alex Pereira to say no to the UFC if he needs ‘time off’
Pereira recently got some key advice from legendary UFC Hall of Famer and MMA pioneer Don Frye.
During an appearance on Submission Radio, ‘The Predator’ warned ‘Poatan’ about the risks of fighting through injuries.
“Well, if you’re hurt, take the time off and heal up. I never did. I always popped the pills and kept going, you know, fighting through it,” Frye said.
“That ended up making my career take a s–t, my career. Come to find out, the promoter don’t give a damn. They don’t give a damn about you. I haven’t got one Christmas card or birthday card from any promoter ever.
“And I made them all lots and lots of f–king money,” Frye added. “I almost like died in the hospital a couple of times and nobody ever called me up and said, ‘How you doing? Hope you’re better.’”
Speaking to Cronkite News in 2022, Frye estimated that he had between 40 and 50 surgeries during the course of his MMA career.
The American legend admitted that he should have retired at 15-1 after defeating Yoshihiro Takayama at Pride 21 in 2002. Instead, he went on to compete a further 15 times until 2011, losing eight times.
Frye had his issues with Dana White during his career, even accusing the UFC president of ‘ruining the sport’ post-retirement in 2012.
Alex Pereira turned down another quick UFC turnaround
While seemingly not down to injuries or a specific desire for rest, Pereira did turn down the chance to make another fast return to the Octagon this year.
After Pereira lost the light heavyweight title to Magomed Ankalaev, ‘Poatan’ was reportedly offered a rematch for just over three months later at UFC 317 on June 28.
But per Ariel Helwani, the timeline didn’t work for the busy Brazilian.
Headlines were then made when Pereira appeared to threaten retirement following a disagreement with the UFC – rumored to be the decision to offer Prochazka the next title shot instead.
But the former kickboxer soon stated that his X account had been “hacked,” a claim that not everyone believed.