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.

UFC commentator Joe Rogan recently mentioned on his podcast that Alex Pereira “fought with a broken hand and norovirus” in his UFC 313 title defense versus Magomed Ankalaev earlier this month, but that’s not entirely true.