Alex Pereira’s next Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Light Heavyweight title defense might come against Magomed Ankalaev, but the perennial top contender’s next fight won’t be Pereira.
The promotion caught fight fans off guard at UFC Abu Dhabi earlier this month (Aug. 3, 2024) when it revealed the UFC 308 main card line up, featuring the return of the surging Ankalaev, who will take on Aleksandar Rakic on Oct. 26, 2024. Among those confused by the match up was former divisional champion, Daniel Cormier.
Despite the surprise, “D.C.” is cool with another test for the Russian.
“I don’t know why Pereira is not fighting Ankalaev,” Cormier said on Good Guy/Bad Guy (h/t Forbes). “I don’t know why that’s not happening. What I do like is that now Ankalaev has to pass another test. Because what the UFC is kind of saying here is we’ve got this star. We know that this guy here could be a real potential issue for that star. They will fight eventually, but they will fight when we have no other option. I like it.”
Ankalaev, 32, has gone unbeaten in his last 12 fights since his lone loss in his UFC debut (18-1-1, 1 no contest). Shortly before Pereira became a champion, Ankalaev had his first career UFC title shot when he and Jan Blachowicz, unfortunately, battled to a split draw in a vacant title affair in December 2022. It’s been an uphill climb for the contender ever since.
Thanks to Ankalaev’s strong overall skillset supported by his wrestling, many expect him to be Pereira’s most difficult match up. Therefore, possibly delaying the booking further than it would be with a less popular and entertaining champion. From a business perspective, that’s just how it goes sometimes, believes Cormier.
“I don’t think you run the risk yet,” Cormier said. “I’m not saying Pereira can’t fight or beat Ankalaev. I just feel like it is a very very difficult matchup, possibly the hardest matchup for him in the entire Light Heavyweight division. So I think he has to wait right, or you get him in there with someone else right now that’s a striker. Because all these strikers he’s just knocking out left and right, and every time he does that his star just shines brighter. So maybe that is what happens for Alex Pereira, but I’m very rarely surprised when fights get announced. But I remember sitting in Manchester and they said UFC 308, and when I saw Rakic taking on Ankalaev, my jaw dropped. I was like, ‘They actually did it.’ Like sometimes you got to protect that golden goose a little bit and that’s kind of what it feels like.”