One of the aspects that most caught the attention of fans in Alex Poatan 's defeat to Magomed Ankalev in the light heavyweight (up to 93 kg) title fight in the main event of UFC 313 on March 8th was the Brazilian's passive performance in the stand-up fight throughout the five rounds. According to Joe Rogan, a commentator for the UFC, this issue can be explained by physical and health problems experienced by the former champion that night.
In a recent edition of the 'Fight Companion' podcast, the commentator said that Poatan had a fractured hand and was dealing with symptoms of norovirus, a type of virus that causes gastrointestinal conditions such as diarrhea, vomiting and high fever.
“They say he fought with a broken hand and norovirus against Ankalaev. He’s fought with a broken big toe before. When he beat Jiri Prochazka , his knee was messed up. He fought with only one leg in the first fight,” Rogan pointed out.
If the information is true, this would be Alex Poatan 's second consecutive fight with health problems, since in his victory over Khalil Rountree last October, the then-champion reportedly fought under the effects of antibiotics due to a high fever and injuries to his ribs and big toe.
Despite Alex Poatan 's alleged health problems and injuries , Joe Rogan did not fail to acknowledge Magomed Ankalaev 's merit in winning the belt.
“I saw good things in Ankalaev's stand-up against Pereira. It was very high level, super impressive. Especially taking his hand out of the way, making the circular movement and taking away the angles,” he highlighted.
Finally, Rogan has no doubt that the next step the UFC should take is an immediate rematch between Magomed Ankalaev and Alex Poatan for the title.
“They’ll do it again, I’m sure. They need to. It’s the big fight of the division. If Pereira can come in healthy… he’s too active. But he’s smart, because he’s 37 years old and he knows he needs to run and make as much money as possible. He did that. He became one of the greatest of all time in three years, which is crazy,” he concluded.
Exclusive: Michael PQD talks about his brutal UFC debut victory.
You need to log in to comment.