Magomed Ankalaev needed a “good fight” in order to secure a light heavyweight title shot.
Whether or not his decision victory over Aleksandar Rakic makes the grade remains to be seen, but former 205-pound title challenger, Jamahal Hill, was not impressed by Ankalaev’s performance — even suggesting it may not be enough to land him the next crack at Alex Pereira in early 2025.
“This fight was boring,” Hill said during his UFC 308 breakdown on YouTube. “It showed a lack of weapons. Rakic showed a lack of fight IQ. Giving somebody a title shot off a performance like that … obviously he’s got the resume and deserves the title shot but that performance sucked and I know [UFC] don’t like him, so you never know.”
Ankalaev was quick to respond (and regurgitate this line) on Twitter.
“Is this guy still sleeping from Alex KO?”
To be fair, Pereira also finds Ankalaev boring.
No word yet from White or UFC matchmakers on what the plan is for Pereira, who is not expected to make his Octagon comeback until early-to-mid 2025. That could depend on how quickly he finishes his filming duties on this new movie but once “Poatan” does return, this champ-champ fight could trump anything offered by Ankalaev.
Stay tuned.