Alex Pereira is running away from Magomed Ankalaev! Well, that is how Ankalaev’s camp is perceiving the situation at the moment. Right after the fight with Jiri Prochazka, the Ankalaev vs Pereira fight was teased. With the Russian declining an immediate title shot due to lack of preparation, Khalil Rountree Jr. was given the green signal instead.
Despite the big frowns of the MMA fans, Ankalaev had to fight it out with Aleksandar Rakic at UFC 308. Now, both the fights have been done and dusted. And with Pereira and Ankalaev securing some dominant victories, their face-off looks inevitable. Unfortunately, things are not so simple. After reports of Ankalaev taunting Pereira, ‘Poatan’ vowed to make the fight ‘harder to get’ for Ankalaev.
Thus, speaking on similar lines, Magomed Ankalaev’s coach opined on the situation. Speaking to Meta MMA, Ankalaev’s coach said, “We are ready to perform on December [7]. Magomed has no problems with a visa… There are doubts about Pereira’s desire, because he recently said that he plans to complicate our path to the title.”
Now, these are some serious allegations from the Ankalaev camp. Earlier as well, Ankalaev tried to get under Poatan’s skin by promising to knock out the champion. Recently, the Russian fighter accused Dana White and co. of ‘defending’ Alex Pereira.
Magomed Ankalaev Blames UFC For Defending Alex Pereira
Magomed Ankalaev put on a brilliant display to win his bout against Rakic via unanimous decision. Oozing confidence, the 20-1-1 fighter predicted his victory beforehand. But along with it, he also lashed out at the UFC for being protective of Poatan. Demeaning Rakic ahead of UFC 308, Ankalaev said, “We know that Rakic is a great fighter. I think the only reason the UFC put him in front of me is to defend their champion. So, we’re going to go across from him, we’re going to roll him over, and then we’re going to move onto the champ.”
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On the flip side, Pereira’s camp has completely denied the ‘ducking’ allegations. After all, a fighter who has defended his title thrice this year will surely do anything but ‘duck’ his opponent. Thus, with the verbal battle in full swing, it remains to be seen how things pan out in the future.
