Alex Pereira made quick work of Jamahal Hill at UFC 300. ‘Poatan’ needed less than two minutes to secure his first title defense as the light heavyweight champion in the UFC. Following his win, Pereira stated that he wanted to fight immediately since he absorbed little to no damage during the fight. The former kickboxing champion offered to go up a weight in order to headline the UFC 301 which takes place in Brazil next month. Meanwhile, his recent reciprocation to Magomed Ankalaev did reflect his hunger to fight.
Fighters in the division welcomed warmly Pereira’s proposed move to heavyweight. Shortly after the event, interim champion Tom Aspinall posted a picture of him staring at Pereira.
In his own division, Pereira also received a call out from Magomed Ankalaev. The Russian fighter stated that he wanted to fight Pereira in Abu Dhabi in October. However, that is not something ‘Poatan’ is ready for. In a recent interview uploaded by Championship Rounds, he said,
“I don’t want to fight at the end of the year, I want to fight sooner, so maybe that shows [Ankalaev] won’t be ready. I don’t know why he said that, this guy is complicated. Honestly, I have to see what’s best. I’m here to fight, but I don’t understand best about other things like where is best [to fight] and where isn’t. If I have to fight there, I will, but if it’s not a date I want, then it’s not best for me. I can say no.”
For Pereira, October is a six month wait. Considering that he was almost untouched, this would be a massive waste of time for him. Although Ankalaev is the rightful number one contender, there is a very strong possibility that Pereira fights before October.
A closer look at a potential fight between Alex Pereira and Magomed Ankalaev
Ankalaev is fresh off a brilliant knockout win over Johnny Walker in January this year. He has not fought since. The Russian is currently ranked 2nd in the light heavyweight division and is the fight that makes the most sense for the champion. However, Pereira has been extremely active ever since he signed for the UFC.
Ankalaev is not injured at the moment, therefore, his request to fight in Abu Dhabi in October comes as a surprise. The only possible explanation is that Ankalaev probably wants Pereira to face a hostile environment in his title defense.
Unfortunately for Ankalaev, he is not the champion and therefore, does not call the shots. Now, it all rests in the hands of Dana White as to when he will schedule Alex Pereira’s next fight.
