Alex Pereira hits back at Joaquin Buckley after UFC star claims champion turned down 2022 fight

UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira didn’t take kindly to Joaquin Buckley’s recent claims about a middleweight fight that never came to fruition.

Alex Pereira got his revenge earlier this month at UFC 320 as he defeated Magomed Ankalaev by TKO to reclaim the UFC light heavyweight title. Pereira avenged his lone light heavyweight loss and is back on the throne of the 205 lb division.

Before making the full-time move to light heavyweight, the behemoth Pereira fought at middleweight for the first few fights of his MMA career. He knocked out Israel Adesanya at UFC 281 to become the fastest to earn the UFC middleweight championship.

A few months before facing Adesanya in what was the first of their two UFC fights, Joaquin Buckley allegedly had an offer on the table to fight Pereira. While Buckley accepted the fight offer, he alleged that Pereira turned it down due to the short-notice proposition.

Joaquin Buckley and Alex Pereira spar over 2022 fight offer claims

In a recent video uploaded to his YouTube channel, Buckley shared the story of his near-fight with Pereira in 2022.

“He (Alex Pereira) wasn’t able to take the fight because they said they wouldn’t be ready in time,” Buckley said.

“I was planning on knocking that man out.” (h/t Bloody Elbow)

In a recent Instagram story post, Pereira appeared to react to Buckley’s assertions by screenshotting a 2022 direct message exchange between the then-middleweights.

“Why did you send me this post?” Pereira began. “Of the 15 [fighters] that ran you were the first!! Now go back to the end of the line [SMILE].”

Alex Pereira shares old messages with Joaquin Buckley after Buckley claimed he turned down a fight against him back in 2022:

“Of the 15 that ran, you were the first! Now go back to the end of the line.” 😳 pic.twitter.com/kVWSGwblrd

— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) October 29, 2025

Pereira and Buckley no longer compete at middleweight and are stars of their new divisions. Buckley most recently lost to Kamaru Usman at UFC Atlanta but remains one of the top welterweight contenders.

Pereira envisions a potential move to heavyweight to fight the likes of Jon Jones, especially after Tom Aspinall vs. Ciryl Gane ended in a no-contest. UFC CEO Dana White isn’t keen on the idea of Pereira moving up, and his heavyweight ambitions might have to wait.