In an interview with Ushatayka, Ankalaev’s coach Sukhrab Magomedov accused Pereira of being sticky and having ointment on his body to help him defend takedowns. He even claimed that Pereira’s mentor Glover Teixeira was known to grease.

Pereira, 37, became the subject of whispers this past week when UFC commentator Joe Rogan claimed on his podcast that Pereira came into the Ankalaev fight with a broken hand and norovirus. There's at least some truth to those rumors, as Pereira confirmed he dealt with injuries, but he declined to go into detail.

Alex Pereira has called for a rule change in the UFC following his recent loss at UFC 313 earlier this month. Pereira, also known as "Poatan", lost his light heavyweight title to Magomed Ankalaev in a tight decision that caused debate among some UFC fans, with 55.5% of 1,873 fans scoring the fight in the Brazilian's favour.