Alex Pereira has taken to playing defense on behalf of the UFC following the announcement of his next title defense.
In the days prior to UFC 305, UFC CEO Dana White officially announced UFC 307 on Oct. 5 in Salt Lake City, with Alex Pereira defending his UFC light heavyweight championship in the main event against Khalil Rountree.
The UFC was met with backlash over the selection of Rountree as the title challenger. “The War Horse” has won five straight and has Performance of the Night bonuses in three of his last four wins. Rountree, however, is only ranked #8, coming off back-to-back finishes of Chris Daukaus and Anthony Smith.
Many were instead clamoring and believing that the next challenger would be Magomed Ankalaev, who will instead face Aleksandar Raki? at UFC 308 later that month. The Russian, ranked #2 at light heavyweight, is coming off a huge knockout of Johnny Walker from the start of 2024.
The decision to pick Rountree over Ankalaev has left many feeling that the UFC and CEO Dana White still hold a grudge against him for the UFC 282 light heavyweight title fight with Jan B?achowicz that ended in a draw. That was despite many feeling Ankalaev deserved the nod that night.
In a new YouTube video, however, Pereira claimed that while he also hoped for a fight with Ankalaev, the Dagestani does not want to fight him.
“I always wanted to fight against Ankalaev,” Pereira said via translation. “I threw that to the organization, left it very clear, but Ankalaev didn’t want to fight against me. I don’t know the reason — if it was the location, if he just didn’t want to.
“He isn’t the champion; he can’t pick anything. I think it’s the opportunity that shows up; he didn’t want it. He has his reasoning. I don’t know what it is,” Pereira continued. “Came to tell you guys, I’m not scared of anyone, and everyone knows my history.
Alex Pereira Claims Magomed Ankalaev Refused To Fight Him, Promises Striking War With Khalil Rountree
Pereira added that the way Ankalaev is acting, in his mind, could result in him not taking the fight with Raki? seriously and costing himself an eventual title shot.
“Ankalaev is talking about Ji?í (Procházka), saying he is a false fighter, that he isn’t good since he lost two times to me. Everyone knows my story, seen my fights, not just UFC but also in (GLORY) Kickboxing, what I did to my opponents. He is taking these two fights to talk bad about the guy. I think Ankalaev has to be very careful with Raki?. The way Ankalaev has been acting his last fights, no one likes it. Fight was a tie, everyone saw it.
“I think he should watch out for Raki?. He is talking a lot about me, he is going to knock me out and all that. It’s what he says, but at the time, we’ll see if that’s what it is. But I think he should watch out with this fight. (It’s a) very dangerous fight for him; maintain focus on this fight because he is getting a tough opponent.”
Pereira added that despite Rountree’s ranking, the UFC thinks it’s the best matchup stylistically and that he is confident they will put on an entertaining performance.
Pereira, furthermore, pointed out his own meteoric rise to the top of the UFC as reason people should not count Rountree out.
“I think he is a guy showing work,” Pereira said. “It is going to be a good fight for us both. We both like to strike. Not just good for us, but for who is watching. Like I said, I thought it was going to be Ankalaev, but I think the organization sees it as a guy who will give a good fight. They are doing all this for you guys, to please you guys. Same way how I wasn’t ranked. Things happen very fast; look at what you guys get whenever I fight.
“So I think they are thinking the same thing for Khalil, giving him this opportunity. Ranking doesn’t matter. What matters is the work he has been doing, giving a show. I think it will be a good fight.”
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