UFC light heavyweight champion, Alex Pereira and top contender Magomed Ankalaev have gone back and forth for months accusing each other of ducking each other in the octagon. Recently, ‘Poatan’ commented on the Russian’s toughness, giving him 5 out of 10 to rate his tenacity. However, Ankalaev’s response seemed characteristically passive aggressive.
The Dagestani fired back at the champion, urging him not to lose on Saturday so that he can have his way with him.
“This guy say I’m at level five I’m in this guy’s head. Please do not [lose] Saturday. I promise you this voodoo stuff will not work with me. I pray five times a day. I am protected.“
While he is scheduled to fight Khalil Rountree this weekend in Utah, giving Ankalaev a 5 out of 10 on toughness was a nice touch to try and egg the Russian on.
However, it seems the wrestler is not that worried about Pereira. Nor he is concerned like Jiri Prochazka about whatever dark magic ‘Poatan’ can cook up. As with his fellow countrymen, the rule is simple- walk into the octagon, get mauled.
And as much as he would love to do it to Pereira, the Brazilian has sort of been flying high, accepting short notice fights and pulling off highlight reels, making himself a more elusive target each possible day.
That said, Ankalaev does deserve the title shot and is widely believed to be the guy, who stomps out the hype train for good. However, it seems he will have to win another fight for a shot at the light heavyweight title.
Meanwhile, Pereira confirmed that it was not him that denied the Russian a title opportunity but it was the Russian fighter’s lackluster fighting style which forced the UFC to match Rountree against the champ.
Pereira slaps back at “boring” Ankalaev
Former Glory two division kickboxing champion, Alex Pereira’s sole focus now is Khalil Rountree. The two will collide at the Delta Center with the LHW title on the line on October 5th as the headline to UFC 307.
However, the promotion’s decision to award the opportunity to the #8 ranked LHW against the champion created a buzz in the community with many including Ankalaev deeming that the champ was simply ducking him.
In response, Pereira recently explained the fact that it was not his decision to make. Still, Ankalaev put himself in that situation because of his “boring” fighting style.
“Honestly, it’s not my fault that Ankalaev have such a boring style of fighting that nobody wants to watch, that the guys don’t want to put him in. I’m ready to fight the guy. He’s ready to fight me, so whenever they put that fight. People talk about my ground, so there’s a good chance I’m going to show everybody.”
However, given his new found middleweight ambitions, as Ankalaev chips away at the rest of competition does seem rather ‘sus’.
