Alex Pereira criticizes Magomed Ankalaev's 'boring style' after UFC 313 defeat

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira may have lost his title to Russian contender Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 313, but he wasn't impressed with the way he did it.

Ankalaev employed a pragmatic mix of striking and cage work to bank rounds and claim a unanimous decision victory after their five-round title clash at UFC 313 in Las Vegas.

RELATED: Magomed Ankalaev dethrones Alex Pereira at UFC 313, Dana White hints at immediate rematch

And, while he credited Ankalaev for pushing the pace and applying pressure during the fight, the Brazilian said that he was disappointed to see Ankalaev's less-exciting fighting style rewarded by the judges.

Chatting to Joe Rogan immediately after his defeat, Pereira said, "I knew it would be a war. Every fight of mine is a war.

"He put some pressure in the second round, I felt some of his strikes but, putting me up against the cage, he didn't really do anything.

"We followed our strategy. We know that he puts people against the fence and he plays that game. But giving him the win with a gameplan like that, it incentivizes people to do that against people.

"People might say that it's a boring style, but when a guy gets a win by doing that, it kind of makes people want to do that, too.

"I hurt him against the fence. The only difference was, I was the one against the fence.

"I'm going to keep training. I feel good, I don't think I'm hurt in any way. I'm going to take a few days off and get back to training. This is my life."

The loss to Ankalaev was Pereira's first at 205 pounds after he had previously defeated former light heavyweight champions Jan Blachowicz, Jiri Prochazka (twice) and Jamahal Hill, plus contender Khalil Rountree Jr.

But that run came to an end against a fighter who fought to an intelligent gameplan and outsmarted Pereira over the five-round duration.

And, as he reflected on his defeat later in the evening, Pereira shared a video to his followers on Instagram as he promised to return better than ever for a potential rematch later this year.

“That’s it, everyone. Some marks. But I’m good,” he said.

“Gonna to rest a bit. I’ll be back, like I’ve always done. This has already happened sometimes. But I'm good.

"I'm grateful for all your support, for all your love, always supporting me. I'm receiving so many messages of great encouragement. 

"I'm here with my people, my family, my team, my children. Everyone's here with me, gonna have some pizza. That's that. Life continues.

"Thank you to everyone. Thank you to my team.

"Gonna make some adjustments for the rematch and I'll be back much better, you can count on it.

"All good, everyone. Never give up on your dreams. CHAMA."

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