DC just became the UFC’s Hall of Famer instigator! In a hilarious turn of events, the former UFC champ-champ, Daniel Cormier gave #2 light heavyweight contender Magomed Ankalaev a lesson in English.
Ahead of the Russian’s UFC 308 bout against Serbia’s Aleksandr Rakic, Magomed sat down with Cormier for an exclusive and that’s when the Olympian urged him to use that English to call out Alex Pereira.
In the clip uploaded to his Instagram, fans saw the former champion inciting Ankalaev to call out ‘Poatan’ after his fight on Saturday in English.
In fact, DC even shared a line, asking the fighter to look straight at the camera and say,
“Alex (Pereria) stop running away.”
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The champ, Pereira, has already fought thrice this year, defending his belt on three separate occasions. In that due process, he beat two former champions – Jiri Prochazka & Jamahal Hill and is now basking in the glory.
On the other hand, Ankalaev has been persistently calling for a title shot, brutally criticizing the champion, hoping that it would trigger him into a fight.
However, ‘Poatan’ just kept on shrugging it off which infuriated the Dagestani to the point where he claimed that the champ was simply ducking him.
Now, he needs a statement win on Saturday to prove his mettle and get himself a title fight. Ankalaev must beat Rakic and do it in style. That’s the deal Dana White allegedly made with him. He cannot settle for anything less than an entertaining win if he wants to fight for the title!
Well, the tall stocky Russian certainly has the skills for that and now with DC teaching him a cheeky callout, Ankalaev fans already consider it done!
However, the champ is not fully convinced of Ankalaev’s skillset. In fact, in an earlier tweet, the Brazilian took a drag at Ankalaev by picking sides with Rakic.
Pereira bets on Rakic over Ankalaev
Despite going on a blistering streak since 2018, Ankalaev is still a few steps away from the title. Whereas, Pereira who transitioned from kickboxing two years ago is now at the helm being the fan-favorite champion. Not fair, eh?
Well, from a business standpoint, it is for the UFC. Compared to the more reserved Russian, Pereira has the innate ability to captivate the fandom and make them chant “Chama.”
Furthermore, Ankalaev with his wrestling-heavy game has been accused of lackluster fights as compared to the Brazilian’s adrenaline-pumping KO finishes. Now, this is just not true because the Russian can definitely strike and do it well.
The Russian heritage doesn’t automatically make him a wrestling-heavy fighter.
Ankalaev has the skill set to trump Pereira, he might not be as good a striker as the Brazilian but this isn’t a kickboxing. This is MMA.
However, the champ doesn’t resonate with this. In fact, in a recent social media post, Pereira took a swipe at Ankalaev by picking Rakic over him so that he could make Russian wait longer.
“I wanted Ankalaev to win so he could wait a little longer, but I can’t see him beating Rakic.
Now, is Pereira really ducking Ankalaev, or is the Brazilian employing some psyops to rattle the Dagestani? More importantly, will this recent incident create a rift between Pereira and DC? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
