Alex Pereira’s former opponents, Israel Adesanya and Jamahal Hill, divided on ‘Poatan’ pick ahead of UFC 313

Ex-middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya, and former light heavyweight titleholder, Jamahal Hill, have both competed against current 205-pound kingpin, Alex Pereira. “The Last Stylebender” even tried to help “Sweet Dreams” emerge victorious when Hill battled “Poatan” at UFC 300 early last year; but alas, it was not meant to be.

Pereira will now face what could be his most challenging foe to date in the former of No. 1-ranked title contender, Magomed Ankalaev, atop the UFC 313 pay-per-view (PPV) event, locked and loaded for this Sat. night (March 8, 2025) at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Adesanya and Hill are divided when it comes to picking a winner.

YouTube. “That’s going to be a factor in this fight. He might have to become a wrestler in this fight. He might have to go into his bag for this one because he can’t just — I think ego is a part of it. Fight talk. He’s saying what he has to say to get the fight. ‘I’ll stand up with him.’ Yeah, it will start off standing but I don’t think it’s going to keep standing. He’s going to clinch. He’s definitely going to try and take him down. Can he keep him down? Alex Pereira is a black belt in jiu-jitsu now. He’s exponentially getting better. I haven’t really seen him use it much in a fight because he hasn’t had to, but I’ve seen him roll with some people recently and it was a lot different from what I remember. It seems like he flows better on the ground.”

“Ankalaev is going to shoot because he’s going to get tagged on the legs, and again, he could get clocked in the face,” Adesanya continued. “If you say Magomed has good straight shots, that’s something Alex has to watch out for, and he switches a lot. Southpaw will be the best stance for Magomed. Maybe I’m banking too much on the leg kicks. I have experience with it and I know how effective it is. Regardless, I’m going to go with Pereira because of momentum. He’s just on a tear right now. When you have that kind of frame and power, you trust in your skillset so much. Ankalaev [has] speed, but he’ll have to catch Alex when he makes a mistake. So counters. If he catches him on a counter it could be a dangerous night, but I just think this is going to go leg kicks, leg kicks, leg kicks, left hook. Alex Pereira by KO. Four or five. He’s going to knock him out in the fourth or fifth round.”

the Khalil Rountree Jr. fight.

“I’m gonna get hate for this one — but I get hate anyway, f*ck y’all,” Hill said on YouTube. “I’m probably going to go with Magomed. I just got a feeling that he has more tools to win. Obviously Alex has that one-hit wonder. If he catches you, he can put you away, but I believe Magomed also has that. He has his speed, the patience, the counter. He’s been in this position before and he let the title slip out of his hands once before, and I believe he’ll be a lot more focused, locked in for this. I believe he just has more more ways to win. I’m gonna go with Magomed Ankalaev.”

“Magomed’s striking is seriously being slept on here. It’s seriously, seriously being slept on here,” Hill continued. “I don’t believe that Pereira sits back and kind of wants to fight out of the pocket. He wants to put the pressure on him and land good hard shots from the outside. Problem with that is Magomed is a counter striker. I you go back and you look at his last few fights, he counters. He waits for you to throw, waits for you to overexert yourself. And even off of faints, if you faint and puts your feet in the wrong spot, he’s countering. He counters with combinations, they’re fast, and he mixes up his punches. He has a variety of strikes available at his disposal.”

squandered his UFC 282 title shot but rebounded with back-to-back victories over Johnny Walker and Aleksandar Rakic. The UFC 313 headliner is scheduled for five, five-minute rounds — assuming it lasts that long.

Not likely.

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LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE TILT! Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) continues its 2025 pay-per-view (PPV) schedule on Sat., March 8, 2025, with a high-stakes clash between 205-pound kingpin, Alex Pereira, defending his Light Heavyweight crown against formidable No. 1-ranked contender, Magomed Ankalaev, in the five-round main event. In UFC 313’s electrifying co-headliner from inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, Lightweight fan-favorite and former interim champion, Justin Gaethje, will rematch the dynamic Rafael Fiziev in a three-round rematch, stepping in on short notice after Dan Hooker’s withdrawal due to injury. UFC 313 will also feature a hard-hitting Heavyweight battle between Curtis Blaydes and promotional newcomer, Rizvan Kuniev, alongside a Lightweight showdown with Jalin Turner facing Ignacio Bahamondes, and so much more! UFC 313’s start time is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. ET (“Prelims” undercard) and 10 p.m. ET (PPV main card).

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MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 313 fight card right RIGHT HERE, starting with the early ESPN+ “Prelims” matches at 6 p.m. ET, followed by the remaining undercard balance on ESPNN/ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET, before the UFC 313 PPV main card start time at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV.

To check out the latest and greatest UFC 313: “Pereira vs. Ankalaev” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here. For the updated and finalized UFC 313 fight card and PPV lineup click here.