The rivalry between Alex Pereira and Magomed Ankalaev recently took a surprising turn. The newly crowned champion’s camp accused ‘Poatan’ of foul play during their UFC 313 headliner, claiming that Pereira was involved in greasing. For some fighters, that could be a great excuse to avoid a rematch, but that’s not how Ankalaev has decided to approach his business. In fact, he penned a message for the former champion, assuring him that they’ll surely meet again inside the Octagon.

The ‘Veteran Voice of the Octagon’, Bruce Buffer, recently bestowed ‘The One, The Only’ tag to Alex Pereira, which is something that only he can do given how long he’s been associated with the UFC. But he has a good reason for it because Alex Pereira has been at the forefront of the UFC, becoming one of the biggest stars in combat sports and being a consistent box office draw for Dana White & Co.

From Alex Pereira’s epic rivalry with Israel Adesanya to his winning two divisional titles in record time, Magomed Ankalaev is well aware of the things the Brazilian native has achieved—who was once working in a tire shop, dealing with alcoholism, has now become the next Conor McGregor of sorts. With that said, Ankalaev has assured ‘Poatan’ that no matter the recent accusations, he’s open for the rematch because Pereira has earned it.

“Alex when you’re ready to go again. You deserve this,” Magomed Ankalaev wrote on X, keeping his message short and sweet. The Dagestan native isn’t simply going to hand a rematch to Alex Pereira because there’s something in it for him as well. He’s got a chance to shut his critics up, grab another massive payday, and a successful title defense in the process.

Meanwhile, it seems like Magomed Ankalaev’s confidence in beating Alex Pereira one more time has been approved by a fellow former UFC champion. In fact, the fight in question predicts yet another clinical outing for the light heavyweight champion in the rematch.

Ex-UFC champ backs Magomed Ankalaev against Alex Pereira in potential rematch

Former middleweight kingpin Robert Whittaker recently addressed the aura and hype that surrounded Alex Pereira before he dropped the belt at UFC 313. Given that Magomed Ankalaev persevered in his approach to the fight, ‘The Reaper’ believes that the theory about ‘Poatan’ holding the power and the ability to vanquish any opponent with one big punch is now up for debate.

Furthermore, Whittaker also claimed that people may think the fight was close, but not that much, and guess what? Things are going to go down a similar way when Magomed Ankalaev and Alex Pereira lock horns once again. “I think the hype and confidence train that Pereira had, that if he touches you, you’re going to go out sort of vibe, is now moot-ish because Ankalaev didn’t die,” Whittaker stated on the MMArcade podcast.

“He’s like, all the boogeyman vibes, all the mysteries and uncertainties are now gone… I honestly think Ankalaev does better. I think it’s not as close as it just was. I don’t see the second fight going any differently,” Robert Whittaker added.

Do you agree with his assessment? Well, everything will come down to the rematch, which is what Dana White might prefer given that it involves his biggest star at the moment. Let us know your thoughts in the comments down below.