No. 1 Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Light Heavyweight contender Magomed Ankalakev is patiently waiting for a call from the UFC brass to confirm his long-awaited title shot against Light Heavyweight king Alex Pereira, who is currently having a grand old time in South Korea.
Over the weekend, Ankalaev spoke with Russian News Outlet TASS to accuse Pereira of holding up the fight.
“Pereira has not yet agreed to the fight,” Ankalaev said. “But sooner or later, it will happen. I think the fight can take place in May.”
Magomed @AnkalaevM says that his figth with @AlexPereiraUFC might happen in May. pic.twitter.com/xtK1oJEZ0X
— Red Corner MMA (@RedCorner_MMA) November 25, 2024
It makes sense why the super-active Light Heavyweight champion has not agreed to the fight. He’s currently on a seminar tour, and after his last fight at UFC 307, “Poatan” revealed he was dealing with numerous injuries and needed time to heal.
It seems like poor Ankalaev is now getting the Merab Dvalishvili treatment.
Ankalaev has long deserved another shot at UFC gold after failing the first time at UFC 282. Unfortunately for the Russian fighter, UFC CEO Dana White hasn’t been too impressed and even told Ankalev he needed a good fight at UFC 308 to clinch a title shot.
While “good fight” is subjective, the Russian did win at UFC 308, and White seemed to agree that Ankalaev finally deserves a title shot.
If a potential fight between Ankalaev vs. Pereira goes down in May, it will be after Ankalaev observes Ramadan, which takes place from Feb 28, 2025, to Mar 29, 2025.