UFC light heavyweight contender Magomed Ankalaev wants the next shot at Alex Pereira, and he’s not shying away from letting everyone know it.
Ankalaev was ready and waiting to stake his claim for a second championship opportunity in the aftermath of Pereira’s latest triumph — a second-round knockout of Ji?í Procházka in the UFC 303 main event on June 29.
The result at T-Mobile Arena marked “Poatan’s” second successful defense of the 205-pound gold, coming months on from his brutal finish of Jamahal Hill at UFC 300.
With “Sweet Dreams” having his plans for a rematch delayed by an injury and “BJP” now falling short against Pereira twice in the past eight months, the door appears to be open for Ankalaev.
But believing that the champ is keen to avoid him, the Russian is not going to stop calling his shot…
Ankalaev’s Vocal Approach To Securing Pereira Fight Shows No Signs Of Letting Up
Ever since Pereira’s short-notice victory during International Fight Week late last month, Ankalaev has had the Brazilian’s name on his lips.
By and large, the #2-ranked contender — who is unbeaten in 12 fights since a shock loss to Paul Craig in 2018 — has been accusing Pereira of looking to “run,” as well as making some bold assertions regarding his chances against the former two-weight Glory Kickboxing champion on the feet.
That trend continued this week…
“@AlexPereiraUFC kept away from me for a reason, and I do understand this is business @ufc best fight the best and he is the best for now I will keep my (word),” Ankalaev wrote on X. “I will knock him out. @Mickmaynard2 @danawhite nothing better than you’ve seen an event somebody going to sleep”
Next, the Russian shared a compilation of his knockouts in the UFC, vowing to repeat the feat at the expense of Pereira — once again tagging White and matchmaker Maynard.
“@Mickmaynard2 @danawhite I will do the same thing to Alex. I promise you.”
And Ankalaev’s final comment of the day saw him lay out a “promise.”
“End of the year he’ll be laying on his back looking at the light and ask his corner, are we back in Brazil this is a promise. I will knock him out.”
It remains to be seen when or where Ankalaev’s second title shot will come. But he’s certainly looking to do what he can to ensure he’s not passed over by another name in the division again.
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