UFC CEO Dana White recently poured cold water on ranked #2 light heavyweight contender Magomed Ankalaev‘s hopes of facing current division champion Alex Pereira, by announcing Pereira’s fight against Khalil Rountree Jr. in October. Adding to Ankalaev’s disappointment, Pereira also recently announced his move down to the middleweight division to challenge UFC middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis, who recently defended his title against Israel Adesanya at UFC 305.
Not happy with Alex Pereira’s announcement, Magomed Ankalaev took to X to allege that Pereira was avoiding him. He stated, “Alex Pereira UFC biggest chicken in the UfC call out guys middleweight he 40 pounds more than them,” Ankalaev further accused Pereira of hiding from him, saying, “I am the only guy he doesn’t even mention my name I promise I’m gonna handle my business in October and I’m gonna knock you out under 2 round.”
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Since January, after defeating Johnny Walker, Magomed Ankalev has repeatedly called for a fight with Alex Pereira, even issuing a warning to him. Recently, he accused UFC CEO Dana White of preventing this matchup. However, the 32-year-old has a rumored stipulation: he refuses to fight on American soil because of past refereeing issues. Instead, he insists on facing Pereira in a Middle Eastern country.
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Did Magomed Ankalaev just expose Alex Pereira's dirty tactics? React!
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Alex Pereira’s decision to move down to middleweight not only disappointed Magomed Ankalaev but also deflated the hopes of heavyweight contenders like Tom Aspinall, who had expressed enthusiasm about a potential matchup when Pereira announced his intention to move up after defending his title at UFC 303. Outside of Dricus Du Plessis, who responded to Pereira’s challenge, the heavyweight division has remained silent.
Dricus Du Plessis reacts to Alex Pereira’s move to middleweight
Everything was going well for Dricus Du Plessis. He was riding high after defeating his title against Israel Adesanya. However, his happiness was short-lived. While Du Plessis dominated Adesanya in the ring, Alex Pereira was watching the action unfold on TV from home. Once the match ended, Pereira took to social media and issued a challenge, declaring he would take on Du Plessis. In the post-fight press conference, Du Plessis faced questions from the media about Pereira’s online call-out.
He responded by referencing Adesanya’s previous knockout victory over Pereira at UFC 287, where Adesanya reclaimed the middleweight title and Pereira subsequently moved up to the light heavyweight division. Du Plessis stated, “If Izzy [Israel Adesanya] stiffens you [Pereira] like that, you do not want to be in there with me… You don’t have to cut weight so you have some sort of excuse. I’ll come up to 205 and we’ll sort it out there.”
What are your thoughts on Magomed Ankalaev’s statement? Do you think his anger is justified, especially considering that Khalil Rountree Jr., who recently returned from a hiatus because of a banned substance that cost him his fight against Jamahal Hill at UFC 303, is not the top opponent for Pereira right now? Let us know in the comments below.
Debate
Is Ankalaev right to call out Pereira for dirty tactics, or is he just stirring the pot?