Amid all the chatter of legacy or money fights, it’s easy for top-tier, perhaps lesser marketable fighters to be left out of the conversation. Take the example of Tom Aspinall, who found himself exiled from a conversation involving Jon Jones, Stipe Miocic, and now Alex Pereira. Well, at least for Aspinall, he’s the interim champion and very much an active part of those discussions. A better example would be Magomed Ankalaev, who, despite being ranked #1 in the light heavyweight division, ended up fighting the #9 and #5 guys respectively this year. On paper, Ankalaev is next in line for the title, and is patiently awaiting a call from the UFC to finalize his bout against the champion, Alex Pereira.

However, his ambition to become the next LHW champion is turning out to be quite challenging as ‘Poatan’ has teased a move to the heavyweight division, with a possible legacy fight against Jon Jones to become a three-division champion. Now one to back down, Ankalaev has been taking repeated shots at Alex Pereira on X (formerly Twitter), accusing him of ‘running away’. But with the new year just around the corner, we may see some promising developments for a potential light heavyweight title clash between the Dagestani top contender and the Brazilian champion.

Over the weekend, Magomed Ankalaev spoke with Russian news outlet TASS, accusing Pereira of delaying the much-awaited fight. The light heavyweight #1 contender said, “Pereira has not yet agreed to the fight. But, sooner or later, it will happen. I think the fight can take place in May.” This statement by the Dagestani light heavyweight concerns UFC head honcho Dana White, as fans have also been clamoring to see Alex Pereira truly being challenged by a legitimate threat in the LHW division. On paper, it seems like Ankalaev has the style and skill set to beat Alex Pereira.

But while Magomed Ankalaev might be getting impatient to get his hands on the belt, we can’t blame Alex Pereira for putting a hold on the fight. After all, he literally carried the promotion on his back by appearing on short notice to save high-profile UFC cards, defending his title thrice in 2024. If he fights Magomed Ankalaev next, he has to be in the best shape of his career, considering he’s 37 years old.

After his last fight at UFC 307, Alex Pereira revealed that he was dealing with numerous injuries and needed much-deserved time to heal them. However, it is worth noting that while Pereira has teased a move to heavyweight, Ankalaev, too, might be eyeing that division given his verbal back-and-forth with heavyweight champion Jon Jones.

Magomed Ankalaev vs. Jon Jones in the making?

The animosity between the two began when reports of a prospective Jon Jones vs Tom Aspinall bout surfaced, prompting Magomed Ankalaev to accuse Jones of avoiding Tom Aspinall, to instead face less dangerous opponents. The back-and-forth further escalated, with Jones calling Ankalaev “jealous.” ‘Bones’ wrote on X, “Magomed, jealousy won’t earn you legend status, my friend. Train harder, hate less. Want to truly insult me? Break some of my records first. Let’s get started.”

Of course, this exchange got fans excited, with many speculating a possible future match-up between the current and ex-light heavyweights. In fact, the Russian fighter also spoke about it at a press conference for the 2024 MMA World Championships in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia. When asked whom he would like to face next, Jones or Alex Pereira, Ankalaev referred to the two as ‘desserts’, indicating them both to be easy fights, but he’d rather face the light-heavyweight champion first.

He said, “The desserts are both very tasty [smiles]. But Pereira is in my division, so I would choose him. I think I have done everything to deserve the next title shot. I’d like to talk to Alex, and I’d like to tell him, ‘Hey, stop running away from me.’ We should fight.” Well, it looks like for him to have his ‘dessert,’ he will have to wait at least until May. But even if he gets his chance, do you think Ankalaev will be able to win the fight against ‘Poatan’? Let us know in the comments.