Alex Pereira and Anthony Smith squash the beef
@espnmma #UFC #MMA #UFC307 pic.twitter.com/tIYQ2sfejd
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) September 30, 2024
Alex Pereira and Anthony Smith have finally squashed their beef.
The feud initially started when Smith, during his commentary duties, claimed Pereira’s rapid rise to UFC success occurred without having his grappling tested. “Poatan” felt Smith was constantly downplaying his achievements whenever on the mic.
This led to a series of back and forths between the two, with Pereira calling “Lionheart” washed up. Pereira was also in attendance for Smith’s upset submission win over Vitor Petrino at UFC 301 in Rio de Janeiro this past May. Pereira posted a video of himself pretending to nap as Smith’s fight was about to start. “Poatan” also subsequently challenged Smith to a $50,000 grappling match, which the latter verbally accepted.
However, that never came to fruition and Pereira went on to defend his light heavyweight title with a stoppage in a rematch against Jiri Prochazka at UFC 303 the next month. The Brazilian is now slated to defend his strap against Khalil Rountree Jr. in the main event at UFC 307 on Saturday at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Leading up to the fight, Pereira sat down with Smith for an interview, where they buried the hatchet. Pereira gifted Smith a shirt from his brand, and “Lionheart” expressed gratitude and sincere respect towards the champ and his team.
UFC 307: Pereira vs. Rountree Jr. Saturday at 10 ET on ESPN+. Order Now!
“Thank you for doing this and having the sitdown with me,” Smith said. “Aside from the competitive rivalry, or whatever it was before, I have a lot of respect for you. I’m a big fan of your game. I love watching you fight. Best of luck here in Salt Lake City, and I really appreciate you and your whole team.”
Smith seemingly approached Pereira’s mentor and coach, Glover Teixiera to help squash the beef. Pereira has since felt no malice or bitterness toward Smith and admits he is feeling better because of that.
“I’m thankful to you for reaching out,” Pereira said. “Ever since you spoke to Glover, I don’t think there’s any malice, there’s no bitterness about the back and forths that we had. Today, I’m much better, I feel really good.”
Smith is coming off a unanimous decision loss against Roman Dolidze at UFC 303. He will next fight fellow veteran Dominick Reyes at UFC 310 on Dec. 7 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
