It is difficult to argue that Magomed Ankalaev doesn’t deserve a title shot more than Khalil Rountree Jr. The Dagestani is ranked #2 in the 205-pound division, is the only top-5 ranked light heavyweight not coming off a loss, or whom champion Alex Pereira hasn’t already beaten. Not to mention his twelve-fight undefeated streak.

Instead, #8 ranked Khalil Rountree Jr., who recently got suspended for an accidental PED ingestion earlier this year, is set to face ‘Poatan’ for the light heavyweight gold on UFC 307 in October. The UFC world, of course, is outraged at Ankalaev once again purportedly being passed over. But, Alex Pereira has claimed that this is only because Ankalaev turned down a fight with him. Since ‘Poatan’ said this, Ankalaev and his team have rubbished the champ’s claims, with the Dagestani’s manager, Ali Abdelaziz firing the latest salvo in the ongoing affair.

Ankalaev’s manager 100% sure UFC didn’t offer Alex Pereira fight

Two days ago on his YouTube channel, Alex Pereira said of Magomed Ankalaev and a title shot that “he didn’t want it.” Almost immediately, Ankalaev and his team, including manager Ali Abdelaziz came out and vigorously denied turning down a Pereira fight later this year.

Of course, the Dagestani had turned down a title shot against ‘Poatan’ on UFC 300 as the card was just three days after the Muslim holy month of Ramadan ended. Being a devout Muslim, Anakalev fasted the entire month and thus couldn’t have had a full camp or train for the clash.

But as far as turning down a chance to fight Pereira on UFC 307 is concerned, Ankalaev and company have denied it and denied it vigorously. Abdelaziz, for example, in a recent tweet, said that he could say 100% that Ankalaev was not offered and thus didn’t turn down a Pereira fight later this year.

“Just to be clear the UFC never offered a fight to Magomed Ankalaev against Alex Perreira, this is one thing I’m 100% certain about,” the manager wrote.

Instead, Anaklaev will face #5 ranked Aleksandar Rakic on the UFC 308 Abu Dhabi card the same month as Pereira-Rountree Jr. But Pereira essentially accusing Ankalaev of ducking him, which is one of the worst things a fighter could be accused of, has incensed Ankalaev, who has vowed to make ‘Poatan’ “eat your word”. But this whole controversy has raised one very important question.

Who is right?

There are three possibilities here- either Ankalaev and his team are lying, or Pereira is lying, or a third possibility which we will discuss later. However, given the available facts, it is unclear whom to believe. It does, however, seem unlikely Ankalaev will turn down a title shot especially against Pereira, with whom he has a somewhat favorable matchup.

‘Poatan’, of course, does his best work on the feet, which is where Ankalaev likes to keep the fight, too. But Ankalaev can also handle himself on the ground, which is deemed to be Pereira’s weakest suit. On the other hand, Pereira is not exactly the type to lie in such a bold-faced manner and disrespect other fighters like that.

There, of course, is a third possibility- that the UFC told Pereira Ankalaev had turned down a fight with him when the Dagestani hadn’t. The promotion is known to play with fighters with different narratives to get them to accept fights as it did with Alexander Volkov and Sergei Pavlovich recently. The former training partners and friends took the fight because they were told the other had accepted it first. Their confusion was visible during their face-off before the event.

In a seemingly similar move that backfired, the UFC promoted Dustin Poirier vs. Benoit Saint-Denis without officially signed contracts. The move backfired after weeks before the event, Poirier announced he had not signed the bout agreements. Later, his ATT teammate Johnny Eblen revealed that the UFC was being stingy with pay and announced the fight without even verbal agreements. There were also talks that Poirier played his cards to perfection and negotiated a higher payday with this move.

A case could also be made that Pereira was talking about the UFC 300 clash which Ankalaev had turned down, but that seems unlikely since ‘Poatan’ was quite clearly talking about UFC 307. What are your thoughts on the controversy between Ankalaev and Pereira?