Alex Pereira has been quickly rising to fame with back-to-back victories in the Octagon. Despite the Brazilian’s successful run in the UFC, the fighting community wants him to prove his fighting prowess against Magomed Ankalaev. Ever since he went on the quest to settle the scores with Israel Adesanya, ‘Poatan’ has always relied on his kickboxing skills to dominate the cage. But now, as the teams begin negotiating a fight between Pereira and Ankalaev, the Brazilian receives a golden opportunity to defend his belt against a formidable grappler. 

Ankalaev and Pereira went on and exchanged a few words on social media and various interviews. The Russian fighter even promised to knock down Pereira. But he also has a message for the UFC LHW champion.

Magomed Ankalaev has a message for Alex Pereira

As the entropy among the fight fans began to rise, TMZ Sports interviewed Ankalaev. Without wasting any time, the interviewer asked the Russian fighter if Pereira was the only fighter he had in mind for his next fight. Needless to say, with all the heat between the two, it was indeed the matchup that Ankalaev wanted next. However, the only setback was the contract. “We are waiting for the contract to be signed,” he said.

With speculations and rumors flying around the internet, the interviewer wanted Ankalaev to clarify if the teams actually contacted Dana White and Co. to make the fight happen. The #2 light heavyweight contender affirmed that it was in deep negotiations. Ankalaev has been calling out Pereira for quite some time now. But as the negotiations continued, he sent forth a few words of warning to the man with hands of stone.

Ankalaev said, “My message to Alex is ‘Alex, hang tight until you beat somebody as well-rounded of a fighter as myself in this division. You cannot call yourself as the champion of the division. Once we face, we’ll figure it out.”

Ankalaev seemed pretty confident in his grappling skills He claimed that winning against the ‘Poatan’ would be easy for him Without a doubt, a grappler is indeed a striker’s archnemesis. But did you know Ankalaev believes that Pereira’s striking is overrated? Let’s see what he had to say.

Ankalaev undermined the Brazilian’s punches 

Ankalaev wasn’t fazed by Pereira’s striking skills. As the interview continued, the Russian fighter claimed that Pereira’s striking game was really slow. He seemed confident that he could easily overcome the Brazilian’s powerful punches with his speed. He said, “I think he is relatively slow. Yes, he is a hard puncher. But I think if we start exchanging, I can also get him over with speed. So that’s another weakness I see in him.”

In a previous interview with MMA Junkie, Ankalaev claimed that Pereira’s overall standup was overrated. No doubt, the ‘Poatan’ needs to test himself out against a strong grappler. Will the UFC double champion be able to successfully defend his LHW championship belt against someone like Ankalaev? Well, that’s something that only time can tell. But the excitement for the matchup is palpable.

What are your thoughts on Ankalaev’s message for Pereira? Do you think the LHW champ will be able to hold his ground in case the UFC officially agrees to the matchup? Let us know what you think in the comments down below.