Magomed Ankalaev does not see Alex Pereira as a legitimate champion, accusing him of cherry-picking his opponents ever since he ascended onto the 205 lbs throne in 2023. This argument may fall on deaf ears seeing as ‘Poatan’ has been one of the most active champions in recent times. In just the last 12 months, he has fought 4 times, defending his belt thrice, twice on short notice, and saving multiple fight cards, including UFC 300.
In fact, if Pereira successfully defends his belt against Ankalaev this weekend at UFC 313, he will be the first champion in 10 years to defend his title 4 times in less than 12 months, a record previously held by Jon Jones.
Despite having all these facts presented to him, it didn’t change the tune of the title challenger. He has good reason to, as well, if we are being fair. Despite the Dagestani being the #1 contender, Pereira has tried to avoid fighting Ankalaev on a number of occasions.
So, in an interview yesterday, the Russian seemed adamant that the UFC and Dana White were ‘protecting’ Pereira.
“If I get to be the champion, is that the UFC will get a champ that doesn’t need to be protected. There’s gonna be somebody who’s not gonna pick his opponent, there’s gonna be somebody accepting all the fights, all the opponents.”
Magomed Ankalaev believes the UFC has been picking opponents for Alex Pereira that are good matchups for him
“If I get to be the champion, the UFC will get a champ that doesn’t need to be protected.”
@AgFight #UFC313pic.twitter.com/QgtAotaOXs
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) March 6, 2025
However, this is a little more complicated since Pereira has fought former world champions in the division (Jamahal Hill and Jiri Prochazka).
His lowest-ranked opponent has been the #7th ranked Khalil Rountree Jr. on short notice, and he delivered one of the greatest fights of the year. The same, however, can’t be said about Ankalaev, who won 4 of his last 8 fights by unanimous decision, including one draw and one no contest.
Regardless, the Russian seems extremely confident in his ability to dethrone the current champion. In fact, he even sent out a message to both Poatan‘ and the fans during their press conference ahead of the fight.
Ankalaev says ‘Nao Chama’
Ankalaev, for one, has had enough of hearing the phrase ‘Chama’ repeatedly throughout the build-up to this fight. That is actually a fair complaint on his part.
Even interviewers, obviously taken by the charismatic Brazilia champion, would ask him questions ending with ‘Chama or Nao Chama.’
The Russian is hoping it will be the last time he hears this phrase after entering the octagon on Saturday Night.
During the press conference, he sent out a message to everyone: “The same people that are saying ‘Chama’ now are going to be saying ‘No Chama, it’s Ankalaev time. ‘”
️ Magomed Ankalaev: “The same people that are saying ‘Chama’ now are going to be saying ‘No Chama, it’s Ankalaev time’.”
@ufc #UFC313pic.twitter.com/gt7UY8Y1IY
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) March 7, 2025
To the Russian’s credit, he is playing the role of heel very well going into this fight. He knows he is the underdog going into this fight, and he’s leaning into it.
At the press conference, the crowd would boo him everytime he said something against the champion, and he would just smile and make another sly comment. It will be interesting to see if his mind games pay him dividends come fight night.
