Magomed Ankalaev‘s team has sounded a note of caution about him possibly facing light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira on top of UFC 310. The December 7 card, of course, was set to see Belal Muhammad defend his welterweight title for the first time against the undefeated Shavkat Rakhmonov. However, a bone infection on the champ’s toe forced him to withdraw.

Since then there has been buzz that Pereira-Ankalaev will be the new main event for UFC 310. But the Dagestani #1 ranked 205-pounder’s team has revealed that the buzz is just that- buzz, since the UFC has not officially reached out to them to make it happen.

“This is all at the level of talk. There has been no official offer. We are ready to perform on December 8. Magomed has no problems with a visa,” Ankalaev’s coach, Sukhrab Magomedov, said in a recent interview.

In addition, his coach speculated that Alex Pereira may not want to fight Ankalaev at UFC 310, casting further doubt on their much-awaited clash. “Las Vegas is almost our hometown. There are doubts about Pereira’s desire, because recently he said that he planned to complicate our path to the title,” Magomedov added.

On the other hand, Pereira’s team, too, has reportedly told Ariel Helwani that the Brazilian champ isn’t going to fight on UFC 310 since he has different plans for the end of the year. And Ankalaev’s coach revealing that the UFC has not been in touch with them for the December card only solidifies fears that he may not fight at UFC 310. Not to mention the UFC has not been very enthusiastic about matching up the two light heavyweight titans previously either.

Why the UFC seems reluctant to have Alex Pereira fight Magomed Ankalaev

Magomed Ankalaev has been the clear title contender for nearly the past twelve months. After Alex Pereira defeated former champ Jiri Prochazka to become the 205-pound champion at UFC 295 last November, the Dagestani was the natural choice to fight ‘Poatan’ next. After all, he was ranked #2 in the division at that time.

But despite this, none of Pereira’s three opponents this year have been Ankalaev. Instead, Jamahal Hill fought the champ at UFC 300, while Jiri Prochazka got a rematch at UFC 303. For UFC 307, the UFC went to the #8 ranked Khalil Rountree Jr. in an attempt to match the champ up with someone other than Ankalaev yet again.

Many feel the UFC is ‘protecting’ Pereira from Ankalaev since they are afraid of the Dagestani taking ‘Poatan’ down and mauling him there. It should be noted that those fears may be unfounded since Ankalaev is a striker and doesn’t really rely on his grappling much. Not to mention he has promised to trade blows with Pereira when the fight.

It seems the mere fact that Ankalaev is from Dagestan and can handle himself on the ground seems to have spooked the UFC. Based upon the revelations from both men’s teams, it seems the Dagestani will have to wait even longer to fight Pereira.

What are your thoughts on Magomed Ankalaev’s coach’s revelation that the UFC has not reached out to them for UFC 310?