The light heavyweight belt will be on the line at UFC 313 on March 8th, as Alex Pereira faces Magomed Ankalaev in a high-octane showdown. Tensions between the two fighters have been brewing, with Ankalaev escalating the feud after Pereira took his time granting the Dagestani a title shot. Interestingly, Pereira has been sharpening his wrestling skills to prepare for Ankalaev, and the challenger has a word of advice for him.
Alex Pereira recently uploaded a training video where he was wrestling with Glover Teixeira ahead of his upcoming fight. The footage shows both fighters having their moments as they grapple on the snow. ‘Championship Rounds’ uploaded the video on their X handle and Magomed Ankalaev took time out of his workout to respond to it with a sweet warning for Alex Pereira, “I hope you ready to do this for 25 min.”
So, does that mean Magomed Ankalaev will wrestle Alex Pereira after promising to fight standing? Well, it appears that the Dagestani is done with words and wants to go all in against the Brazilian champion. It must be noted that Ankalaev is quite ticked off that ‘Poatan’ is not taking him seriously. A month away from the fight, Pereira was in Australia to corner Sean Strickland, “I’ve been climbing mountain chopping, wood, swimming, in freezing lake and Alex been dancing and making video like TikTok chick.” wrote Ankalaev on his X.
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Alex Pereira‘s antics have not only angered his opponent but also raised concerns among his countrymen, with Gilbert Burns expressing worry about ‘Poatan.’ “[Pereira] is traveling a month away from his fight, that makes me freaking nervous. He’s fighting Ankalaev and you saw that he had a couple of strong words [for Alex]…”
He further added, “I think Poatan is Poatan, you know? Poatan is better kicker and [Ankalaev] has a big head. A very big head. I think Alex could put him out but I just think they’re going to be moving a lot. I think it’ll be decision Poatan but it’s scary.”
Magomed Ankalaev is not a fighter that should be taken lightly as he has a record of proving everyone wrong. With just one defeat in his career, the Dagestani is a force not to be underestimated. Given that, a common opponent of both Ankalaev and Pereira has come forward to give his analogy about UFC 313.
Jan Blachowicz gives his take on Magomed Ankalaev vs. Alex Pereira
Former light-heavyweight champion, Jan Blachowicz has danced with both Magomed Ankalaev and Alex Pereira. Blachowicz was defeated by Pereira back at UFC 291, while on the other hand, he tied his battle with Ankalaev at UFC 282. It would not be wrong to state that the Polish fighter is the best man to give a proper assessment of both the fighters considering the fact that he went into a distance with both of them.
When asked about his pick between Pereira and Ankalaev, Blachowicz gave a quite diplomatic answer, “If Ankalaev fights like the last fight with Rakic, he’s going to lose the fight,” Blachowicz said. “He needs to do something more. He is a good fighter, but it’s not enough for Pereira in this kind of style. He needs to change.”
He further added, “He said the same before Rakic that we were going to see a new Ankalaev, but everybody saw that this fight was very boring. I almost go to sleep, so maybe he will start saying the same, and then he will fight again in a very boring style… Three fights ago, I would have picked Ankalaev, but now Pereira.”
Blachowicz appeared to have ruled out Magomed Ankalaev from taking fight but is it too soon to judge? What are your thoughts on the rivalry? State your opinion in the comments below.
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