Alex Pereira Suffers A Massive Setback

UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Alex Pereira’s injury fears have been confirmed with the news of a fractured foot.  

The injury occurred during his first-round TKO win at UFC 320 against Magomed Ankalaev, which allowed him to reclaim his light heavyweight belt. While the win allowed Alex to put the loss at UFC 313 behind him in their first bout, it came at a cost. Pereira had fears he had broken it immediately following the fight. This was after he threw a kick that connected with Ankalaev, only after the Russian switched stances. Pereira is still keen on fighting at the UFC White House card in June 2026, but for now, the aim is to come back stronger.

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“I did an X-Ray in Las Vegas and an MRI here and we have a fracture on my foot, but I still don’t know what will happen, or how long it will take for me to recover. I think it’s good to focus on this White House [date], it’s something that interests me. I think I’ll focus on this. It was a great sensation. We train hard for that. We want to be in there and give our best, be the best.

“I landed a clean punch before the elbows and he came grabbing my legs. There was an opening and my elbow landed clean. When I landed the first one and saw blood, I started hitting and the referee stopped it. But I think it could have gone a little longer because I promised to slap his face and I couldn’t do that,” Pereira said 

The fractured foot is a massive setback because it postpones the pursuit of multi-divisional history. This victory was meant to launch a possible move to the heavyweight division to pursue a third championship. The injury means the light heavyweight division, which is filled with top contenders like Jiri Procházka, will now face a wait to see what Alex does next.

The injury also casts uncertainty over the timeline for his most ambitious plans, specifically the blockbuster UFC White House card in June 2026. The ambiguity around his recovery time means this legacy-defining opportunity could be jeopardy, or at the very least, his training camp for that monumental event will be severely compressed.