While Alex Pereira is gearing up for his fight with Khalil Rountree Jr. at UFC 307, he finds himself still having to explain away the fact that he is not facing Magomed Ankalaev instead.
Many people in the MMA community were shocked when the UFC announced the Pereira vs. Rountree Jr. fight, and it forced the light heavyweight champion to defend himself against accusations that he was “ducking” Ankalaev.
In fact, Ankalaev himself even called Alex Pereira out on X (formerly known as Twitter), saying that he was picking on fighters from lighter divisions.
Magomed Ankalaev reacts to Alex Pereira saying he wants to go back down to 185 after his next fight:
"You are so weak [Alex]. You only pick on the guys who are in lower division than you… there is a reason why you are fighting Khalil and not me."
#UFC #MMA pic.twitter.com/bTyTJyR0yR
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) September 3, 2024
“You are so weak [Alex],” Ankalaev scoffed. “You only pick on the guys who are in a lower division than you, and you think you can beat them. People are not stupid. There is a reason why you are fighting Khalil and not me.”
Alex Pereira explains away “Ducking” allegations, calls Magomed Ankalaev boring
Clapping back to defend his honor, Pereira would go on to claim that it was the UFC who didn’t want them to fight, not him. In an interview with MMA journalist Kevin Iole, Pereira would break it all down.
“Even his manager [Ali Abdelaziz] right? A super famous guy in the MMA world goes and says ‘This guy [Pereira] is not going to fight [Ankalaev].’ Go talk to Dana White… [he] doesn’t want to make the matchup. It’s not Alex.” The champion said (H/T Sportskeeda). “And then he goes and says, ‘The fact that Ankalaev not fighting for the title is a joke.’ Because if the UFC, Dana White, and the guys decide, so they are [a] joke? They’re clowns? They’re circus?”
“You got to sort that out with the organization,” Alex Pereira continued. “It’s not my fault that Ankalaev has such a boring style of fighting that nobody wants to watch.”
Do you think what Alex Pereira is saying has any merit?