Magomed Ankalaev will not be fighting light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira.
Despite his impressive record in the 205-pound division, matchmakers opted to pair the Russian bruiser against Austrian “Rocket” Aleksandar Rakic for the upcoming UFC 308 pay-per-view (PPV) event this October in Abu Dhabi.
Rakic is coming off a technical knockout loss to Jiri Prochazka at UFC 300.
“Now everybody knows I’m not fighting for the title and will fight Rakic in Abu Dhabi,” the No. 2-ranked Ankalaev wrote on Twitter. “Whoever Mick Maynard gives me I will smash their face so that they can no longer deny me if I do my job impressively. I feel sorry for whoever is gonna fight me from now going forward.”
Sounds like the champion got “lucky” once again.
Or maybe UFC CEO Dana White is still holding a grudge after Ankalaev turned in a five-round snoozer against former 205-pound champion Jan Blachowicz at UFC 282, a battle for the vacant belt that had White “zoning out” during the “Sin City” broadcast.
Pereira is expected to return at the end of the year against an opponent to be named.