Recent vacant light heavyweight title challenger, Magomed Anklaev has offered to welcome former UFC middleweight champion, Alex Pereira to the 205lbs weight class for the Brazilian’s much-anticipated first fight in the weight class.
Ankalaev, the current #2 ranked light heavyweight contender has been sidelined since he headlined UFC 282 back in December, fighting to an eventual majority draw against former division champion, Jan Blachowicz in the pair’s vacant title outing.
Surging through light heavyweight contenders en route to his short-notice vacant title fight with Blachowicz, Russian contender, Blachowicz had struck nine consecutive victories before his draw with Smith.
Suffering just a single, buzzer-beating submission loss to Paul Craig during his professional career, Magomed Ankalaev, who boasts an impressive 18-1-1 professional record, has landed notable wins over the likes fo Anthony Smith, Thiago Santos, Volkan Oezdemir, Nikita Krylov, and Ion Cutelaba during his Octagon tenure.
Magomed Ankalaev calls for fight with Alex Pereira in Octagon return
Urged to avoid a fight with Magomed Ankalaev ahead of his light heavyweight division landing by former former two-weight champion, Daniel Cormier recently, Pereira – who has teased news on an impending light heavyweight debut, has now received a call out from the Russian.
“Hey @ufc, I’m hungry give me a (sic) work to do,” Magomed Ankalaev tweeted. “@JanBlachowicz, if you’re ready for another fight, show signs of life! If not, I’ll be more than happy to welcome (Alex) Pereira to the new weight division and show that there are different levels in this game.”
Hey @ufc , I'm hungry – give me a work to do
@JanBlachowicz , if you're ready for another fight, show signs of life!
If not, I’ll be more than happy to welcome Pereira to the new weight division and show that there are different levels in this game! pic.twitter.com/1D9phoHjpl— Magomed Ankalaev (@AnkalaevM) May 4, 2023
Dropping his undisputed middleweight crown last month, Pereira suffered a thunderous second round KO loss to arch-rival, Israel Adesanya in the main event of UFC 287 in Miami, Florida.
A former two-weight champion under the GLORY Kickboxing banner, Pereira had landed the middleweight title with a rallying fifth round standing TKO win over Adesanya back in November of last year at Madison Square Garden in New York City.