A few days ago, the UFC finally put an end to speculation about Alex Pereira’s next fight. During UFC 311, the organization announced that the light heavyweight champion will face Magomed Ankalaev on March 8 in Las Vegas. Then, to make matters more interesting, the Brazilian revealed that he played a key role in setting up the long-awaited fight against his rival at UFC 313.
In an interview with ESPN, ‘Poatan’ revealed that he asked the UFC to fight the Russian. He said, “I did say that I wanted to take a break, but I started training again. I started feeling good. I started seeing my evolution. So I called my managers right away and I said, ‘I want to fight. I want to fight in March. I want to fight Ankalaev.’ I know he keeps saying that I’m just an employee of the UFC; I fight whenever they want, but I asked for him. I told them when I want to fight.”
However, it seems like the title challenger does not agree with this narrative. Taking to his X account, Ankalaev decided to expose Alex Pereira’s lies as he wrote, “@AlexPereiraUFC don’t lie you didn’t ask for me. It was a dead-end street. I’m gonna to eat your heart.” In another tweet, he reminded fans that Alex Pereira wanted to fight anyone else except him earlier, but now that the UFC has booked him up with the Russian, ‘Poatan’ wishes to make fans believe that he always wanted the fight to materialize.
Ankalaev tweeted, “This is number one bulls**t he tweeted a month ago. He’s fighting someone else. The UFC told him he’s fighting me now he wanna make it like he wanted March 8 you’ll get it.” It is worth noting that earlier, the light heavyweight champion, annoyed by Ankalaev’s constant attacks, warned that he would do everything possible to prevent him from competing for the light heavyweight title.
@AlexPereiraUFC don’t lie you didn’t ask for me. It was a dead-end street. I’m gonna to eat your heart.
— Magomed Ankalaev (@AnkalaevM) January 28, 2025
When the fight was just a rumor, Magomed Ankalaev ignored Pereira’s status in the UFC and emphasized that he would not have the right to choose his next opponent but would have to follow the league’s decision. Now, the renowned striker wants everyone to believe that the Russian only got the title fight because he approved the settling of scores between the two. So, it seems like there might be some truth in Ankalaev’s claims. However, the statement about asking for the fight wasn’t the only claim that the Russian would disagree with. In the same interview, ‘Poatan’ also took the opportunity to call the challenger ‘Ordinary.’
Alex Pereira takes an ‘ordinary’ jibe at Magomed Ankalaev
In the interview, the UFC light heavyweight champion proved that he also knows how to intensify a rivalry in combat sports. After being constantly attacked by the Russian, Alex Pereira returned the favor with some jibes of his own. In the same interview with ‘ESPN,’ ‘Poatan’ described Magomed Ankalaev as an ordinary fighter. Undefeated in the light heavyweight division, the Brazilian was not impressed with what his opponent has been doing in the UFC.
If that wasn’t enough, he also suggested that the Russian did not deserve the status of being the biggest threat to his reign, as often claimed by a part of the UFC and MMA community. “As dangerous as any other opponent that I’ve fought. Looking at him, the way that he fights, he’s an ordinary guy. Of course, he has his weapons, has his dangers, but I’ve been training hard. I’ve evolved a lot, and I’m ready for him.” To be really fair, the Brazilian’s confidence is self-explanatory.
In the light heavyweight division, Alex Pereira has impressively beaten most of the former champions. Therefore, ‘Poatan,’ experienced in fighting big fights, assured that he was ready to face Magomed Ankalaev in the Octagon. But what do you think? Will the Russian prove to be a genuine threat to Alex Pereira Or would this be another easy fight for the light heavyweight champion? Let us know in the comments.
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