Jiri Prochazka, after losing to Alex Pereira at UFC 295, said he believed that the Brazilian took help from shamans to advance his career. In his words, Pereira should keep the “magic” behind him before coming for the rematch. Add in the fact that the usual jinxes that trip fighters like the “Drake curse” didn’t affect Poatan, and it simply added more fuel to the theory. Fans believed no curse could touch him. However, now another shadow is creeping in, one that has a history of taking out even the likes of Conor McGregor. So the question comes: is Pereira really immune?

It is reported that with the EA Sports UFC 6 expected to be revealed during the International Fight Week, Poatan could be the next cover star. According to social media posts, ‘Poatan’ shaved his head and beard for the shoot. Later, images of him standing inside the Octagon also surfaced. Pereira has been associated with EA Sports for some time. Ahead of his rematch against Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 320, ‘Poatan’ visited EA Sports headquarters, where he helped the developers capture his biomechanical movements. That means his in-game character will closely replicate his real-life style, further fueling speculation about him being the cover star.

Now, fans are panicked because this is when the EA cover curse could strike. This is not some random one-instance theory; in fact, there is a pattern that people remember.

“Alex Pereira is filming some content for EA Sports today 👀👀 He shared an image of him filming inside a cage with an EA Sports logo on the mat. EA UFC 06 on the way? Cover star?” ACD MMA posted on X.

• EA Sports UFC (2014): Jon Jones ran into legal trouble and a failed substance test, while Alexander Gustafsson suffered a heavy TKO defeat.

• UFC 2 (2016): Ronda Rousey was also knocked out by Amanda Nunes, and Conor McGregor was submitted by Nate Diaz soon after the cover reveal.
• UFC 3 (2018): Conor McGregor again faced great loss after getting submitted by Khabib Nurmagomedov.
• UFC 4 (2020): Jorge Masvidal fell to Kamaru Usman, while Israel Adesanya lost his undefeated streak to Jan Błachowicz.
• UFC 5 (2023): Alexander Volkanovski was knocked out in the first round by Islam Makhachev.

Sure, it can be coincidental, but it does stick in fans’ minds. Now, Israel Adesanya did break the curse during UFC 4. Moreover Pereira is not just anybody; he is known to be someone who walks all over curses. The time when Drake backed him, he still ended up delivering. When Adesanya picked him, he still ended up winning. So he did flip the curses, so maybe yes, he has some power to not get affected by those things. However, there are things that have affected him too.

There is another superstition that is the “Fighter of the Year Curse.” It’s basically that you win an award, and then the next fight slips away. Well, Pereira was named Fighter of the Year in 2024, and he even stepped into 2025 with momentum, but he ran into a loss against Magomed Ankalaev. So now that Pereira prepares to face Ciryl Gane at the UFC Freedom 250 card for an interim title bout, some fans worry that the curse could come into play.

Fans fear Alex Pereira’s downfall after UFC 06 photo shoot  

One fan quickly chimed in and wrote, “Oh no he’s getting the cover curse,” followed by another who added, “Well he had a good run.” When it comes to runs, another user pointed out two fighters whose careers, according to fans, dipped after appearing on a UFC cover, “Oh f—k they about to curse Alex like they did Volk and Valentina.”

That’s an interesting observation. For context, Alexander Volkanovski and Valentina Shevchenko featured on the UFC 5 cover released in September 2023. After that, both faced setbacks, especially ‘The Great,’ who suffered knockout losses to Islam Makhachev (UFC 294) and Ilia Topuria (UFC 298).

As for Shevchenko, she had already lost her flyweight title to Alexa Grasso at UFC 285 and failed to reclaim it in their rematch at UFC Noche. Another example fans bring up is Jorge Masvidal, who appeared alongside Israel Adesanya on the UFC 4 cover. While Adesanya’s career remained largely stable, Masvidal went on to lose to Kamaru Usman at UFC 251 and didn’t secure a win afterward.

Keeping those concerns in mind, another user joked that EA Sports should just stick a big “6” on the cover: “So that’s the update done 🤣 stick a 6 on the cover and we’re good to go 🤦 EA are the worst🤣.” Meanwhile, another fan seemed less concerned about Alex Pereira’s career and more focused on the game itself, writing, “Who cares, man. Are we FINALLY getting a GM/Promoter mode where we create our own events instead of just one card? Or is it just going to be a copy and paste of UFC 5?”

As for development, EA Sports is reportedly bringing changes to the action dynamics, though there is little clarity on new modes. Another fan added, “Better be on PC.” The good news is that, for the first time, PC players may finally get access to the UFC game.

That said, as Pereira looks set to feature on the UFC 06 cover, can he break the so-called curse this time? Let us know in the comments section below.