Was Magomed Ankalaev truly in his best shape? That’s the question making rounds after underdog Alex Pereira brutally knocked him out in their UFC 320 rematch in the very first round. ‘Poatan’ backed up his claims of not being 100% in their previous fight by making a powerful statement this time. But after the Dagestani former champ lost, the same speculations arose that he wasn’t healthy heading into T-Mobile Arena.

Ankalaev’s manager, Ali Abdelaziz, later clarified that his fighter had suffered an injury before the bout. In a lengthy Instagram post, he wrote, “A lot of things happened with Magomed Ankalaev during his training camp. If it were up to me, he never would’ve fought Pereira at UFC 320.” That statement quickly met skepticism, as many fans dismissed it as “excuses.” However, Daniel Cormier has now come forward with insider details confirming that Ankalaev indeed suffered a rib injury prior to facing Alex Pereira. However, despite this, ‘DC’ believes that a fully healthy ‘Big Ank’ would have had trouble beating the Brazilian that night.

Daniel Cormier reveals Magomed Ankalaev’s injury before UFC 320 fight

In his YouTube video, the former two-division champion said, “First off, let’s talk about the injury right away. Magomed Ankalaev did have a rib injury. This is not a lie, this is not an excuse. I know this because before the fight, I saw video of him getting injections into his ribs to help him make it to the fight. He was able to hit pads and do cardio for about a month and a half before the event. That being said, I don’t know if the result changes even if he was healthy, given how Pereira fought him.”

Well, it’s actually hard for any fighter to remain 100% before an important fight. And in this case, Magomed Ankalaev suffering a rib injury definitely took away from his preparation. But as Daniel Cormier pointed out, UFC 320’s outcome might not have been any different even if he were. Pereira most likely would’ve still scored the knockout, simply because of how he approached the fight. The UFC commentator even doubled down on his comments. ‘DC’ revealed that the former champion chose to take the fight despite his injury because he wanted to prove a point against Pereira.

He added, “I know some people who are very close to Magomed Ankalaev that said for him not to fight. He wanted to fight. He wanted to go out there and beat Pereira again. Because he understood how important it was to have a victory over Alex. And two, over him would’ve been a stronger statement as to why he is who he is. But he was not 100%. But I don’t know if he was at 120% if he would’ve beaten Pereira on that night.”

However, whether Ankalaev could have beaten Pereira at full health is something we might only find out if they ever meet in a trilogy. For now, ‘Poatan’ is back in the spotlight—and he’s wasting no opportunity to take shots at his doubters, including Islam Makhachev.

‘Poatan’ takes subtle shots at Islam Makhachev on social media

Islam Makhachev was among the first to predict that Magomed Ankalaev would be a tough puzzle for Alex Pereira. In an interview with ‘DC,’ he even said, “Put him against Ankalaev,” emphasizing that wrestling would be the key factor in their matchup. And just as the former 155 lbs champ predicted, his Dagestani brother managed to defeat the Brazilian at UFC 313. However, things took a dramatic turn at UFC 320.

Pereira reclaimed the light heavyweight throne—proving that his punches were far more devastating than Ankalaev’s wrestling. To drive that point home, ‘Poatan’ posted an Instagram edit of their fight, overlaying Makhachev’s voice from that old interview before cutting to the knockout sequence of Ankalaev.

That post served as a clear jab at the former lightweight champion for doubting him and backing Ankalaev. So yes, Pereira is currently savoring every moment of proving his critics wrong and reestablishing himself as one of the sport’s biggest superstars.

With that being said, do you think Alex Pereira vs. Magomed Ankalaev 3 will ever happen in the future? Or will both the UFC and ‘Poatan’ move on without settling the score? Let us know in the comments below.