Is Magomed Ankalaev really that good or did Alex Pereira just have a night off at UFC 313? Magomed Ankalaev shocked the UFC community when he dismantled Alex Pereira at UFC 313. The Dagestani not only outstruck Pereira but also smothered him, never allowing the former champion to find his rhythm. While the victory was sweet, Ankalaev now has a looming threat in Jiri Prochazka. The light-heavyweight stalwarts have been trading barbs since last Sunday, and it seems ‘The Czech Samurai’ has finally grown tired of Ankalaev’s shenanigans. According to Prochazka, Ankalaev’s win was less about his dominance and more about Pereira delivering a lackluster performance.

While having a conversation with renowned journalist Ariel Helwani, the former light-heavyweight champion asserted that the newly minted champion is not someone who has explosiveness in his gameplan as he is always known to play defensive, “We all know that Ankalaev is doing this—these types of performances. Like, he’s not that type of guy who’s going for the knockout every time.”

Intrigued by the assessment, Helwani further asked ‘The Czech Samurai’ about his thoughts on Alex Pereira’s performance at the title defense, to which Prochakza emphasized that he never witnessed such a defensive ‘Poatan’ in his life. Giving examples of Pereira’s last few fights, ‘BJP’ said that ‘Poatan’ was not aggressive this time, “Yeah, ask him what was that. But he was in a defensive style—not offensive,” said Prochazka.

He further added, “Even when he’s a champion, with everyone except me, he fought every time aggressively. He wanted to strike, he wanted to catch the strikes. And with Ankalaev right now, he was—how to say—defensive. Defensive, like Jon Jones’ last fights in light heavyweight. He just did what was necessary, but it was not right.”

For Prochazka, it was the worst performance that the former UFC light-heavyweight champ has ever showcased inside the Octagon, “I think he showed his worst performance in his career, and he used that. He used a few things that worked on Alex.” Alex Pereira was immensely aggressive in his last four fights, knocking out Jiri Prochazka twice, as well as Jamahal Hill and Khalil Rountree Jr. ‘Poatan’ was confident in his victories during his recent title defenses, but he appeared slightly compromised in his last bout.

Was this the reason behind Magomed Ankalaev’s victory? Well, Jiri Prochazka believes it so and his analogy comes from the fact that they have been beefing. After the victory, Jiri Prochazka took to his X handle to congratulate Ankalaev for his victory, “Congrats to @AnkalaevM, beautiful pressure. Most of people dont like it, but you won the title for now.@AlexPereiraUFC, last dance?” 

However, the champ responded with a rather harsh statement, “I think you are a fraud and so many guys deserve it more than you you need to go win some fights.” So, is Jiri Prochazka the next challenge? Maybe not.

Magomed Ankalaev agrees to give Alex Pereira another chance at the title

When the reporters asked the UFC CEO whether Alex Pereira and Magomed Ankalaev would run it back again in a rematch, Dana White gave a single response, “Probably.” Interestingly, after Dana White‘s confession, ‘Poatan’ took to his Instagram handle to brief his fans about his loss, and while recalling his fight, Pereira asserted that he would come back stronger in a rematch, “Gonna make some adjustments for the rematch, and I’ll be back much better, you can count on it. Never give up on your dreams. Chama.”

So, is a rematch on the cards? Well, after subtle hints by Dana White and Alex Pereira, Magomed Ankalaev has come forward to reveal that he has no problem giving ‘Poatan’ a chance at the title, “@AlexPereiraUFC it was an honor sharing the cage with you, you are a great Champion and your team, your coaches have a lot of class. Let’s run it back anytime you want.”

With Magomed Ankalaev’s confession, the UFC might fast forward the title defense as they have some big plans for Alex Pereira and the light-heavyweight title is a must for that. Given that, what are your thoughts on their rematch? State your opinion in the comments below.