Alex Pereira is tired of hearing how dangerous Magomed Ankalaev is.
On Friday, June 28, ‘Poata’ will once again save the day when he steps into the UFC 303 main event on 16 days’ notice to defend his light heavyweight championship against ex-titleholder Jiri Prochazka.
Following his big first-round KO of Jamahal Hill at UFC 300, Ankalaev appeared to be the next man in line for Pereira, though the ‘Brazilian Boogeyman’ didn’t seem too terribly interested in that fight, instead pushing for a rematch with ‘BJP’ following their November 2023 barnburner.
However, Pereira appears to have had a change of heart, revealing in a recent interview that he would more than welcome a fight with Ankalaev once he takes care of a bit of business with Prochazka.
“Magomed Ankalaev is a guy I would like to test myself against,” Pereira told Stake. “A lot of people talk about that match up and say that he will submit me really quickly. I would like to shut a lot of those people up and show a lot of my ground game as well. It won’t be an easy fight, but it will be a very interesting fight.’’
Magomed Ankalaev itching for his shot at Alex Pereira
Magomed Ankalaev has been chomping at the bit to get another shot at the gold since his split draw with Jan Blachowicz for the vacant 205-pound title back in December 2022.
Since then, the belt has been held by two different men but defended only once.
No matter who leaves T-Mobile Arena with the gold on Friday night, Ankalaev will be waiting to emerge from the shadows and take the strap that barely slipped through his fingers almost two years ago.
