At UFC 307, Alex Pe͏re͏ira͏ r͏oared as he ensured th͏e entire co͏mbat sports communit͏y wit͏nessed his dominance, knocking͏ out͏ K͏h͏alil Rountree Jr. in t͏he fourth r͏ound ͏to su͏ccessfully͏ defen͏d his ͏li͏ght heavyweight title. With this victory, ‘Poatan’ registered his third title defense and broke the 10-year-old record held by Ronda Rousey of these many title defenses in the shortest time frame. Well, the Brazilian has been dropping top contenders here and there but there’s one particular fighter who is quite eager to take on Pereira. Magomed Ankalaev has been calling out ‘Poatan’ for a fight for quite some time now but the UFC has decided to test his patience by pitting him against Alexsander Rakic before granting him his wish.

Amidst the delay, Alex Pereira has expressed his interest in fighting in the heavyweight division and this revelation by the current light-heavyweight king appeared to have irked Ankalaev’s manager Ali Abdelaziz, who has called out the undisputed champion for ducking the Dagestani.

While having a conversation with ‘Submission Radio,’ the fiery manager was asked about Pereira’s willingness to jump to the heavyweight division, to which he stated, “It would be embarrassing” for ‘Poatan’ to run away from Ankalaev because they had been having an intense beef for the past few months. He further explained that he believes in his client’s capabilities and is confident that they will emerge victorious in the battle, “If he did this; he clearly said he’s not running, but listen, let’s see what happens. Listen, Ankalaev needs to focus on Rakic. But if I’m a champion and if I believe I’m the best in the world, I’m going to fight anybody.

He further added, “And listen, remember Islam Makhachev? It took him a long time to get there, but when he’s there, he’s there for a long time. Khabib, Kamaru—these guys who wait a long time to become champions and finally achieve that status tend to hang around for a while. I believe this is going to be the case with Ankalaev and I think he will beat Rakic; I truly believe that. He will knock out Alex Pereira. I believe he has every skill set to do it, and I believe he will do it.”

Abdelaziz believes ‘Russian Terror’ has what it takes for him to be the champion in his division but will he be able to get past the Brazilian wall? Well, the Dagestani appear to be unfazed by Pereira’s victories as he has challenged the champion once again.

Magomed Ankalaev sets a gameplan to defeat Alex Pereira

Alex Pereira’s excellence against Khalil Rountree Jr. has made the MMA community question if there’s any fighter in the division, who has what it takes to defeat ‘Poatan’. The Brazilian has knocked out top contenders such as Jamahal Hill, Jiri Prochazka, and even Khalil Rountree Jr in his last three outings. What mistake did all of these fighters make? Well, they fought Pereira standing up without attempting any takedown and it appears that Magomed Ankalaev will be following the same path as well.

After the fight, Ankalaev took to his X handle to address a fan’s question. When a fan asked the fighter, “This man won’t just strike, he will mix it up. Let’s end the protection plan #UFC307” Ankalaev responded with a three-word answer, “I will strike.” The Dagestani is currently on a 10-fight winning streak if we were to ignore the draw against Jan Blachowicz.

His last fight against Johnny Walker witnessed a dominant performance from the Dagestani as he knocked out the Brazilian fighter in the second round to clinch the victory. Despite his records, he has yet to match the same aura as Alex Pereira. Regardless, what’s your take on the hubbub? State your thoughts in the comments below.