The UFC has already given a huge shock to fans and veterans alike by announcing a fight for Magomed Ankalaev. Interestingly, it is not against Alex Pereira, as was widely believed. Instead, the Russian is going to take on Aleksandar Rakić while the light heavyweight champion is set to defend his title against Khalil Rountree Jr. at UFC 307. The move has drawn a lot of criticism for the promotion and Pereira; thus the champion took to his YouTube channel to reveal that the Dagestani does not want to fight with him. However, the claims have been questioned by Team Khabib.

The Egyptian MMA manager Ali Abdelaziz replied to Pereira’s claims through X and said, “If you said that this is a lie, but I’m not sure he did.” ‘Poatan’ had recently revealed via his YouTube channel that Ankalaev was the one who refused to fight with him and said that he wanted to fight, but Ankalaev did not. He further stated, “He is not the champion he can’t pick anything. I think it’s the opportunity that shows that he didn’t want it. He has his reasoning. I don’t know what it is. Came to tell you guys I’m not scared of anyone everyone knows my history.”

However, it seems like team Khabib is denying it and saying that it might not be true. Ankalaev suggested that he was not ducking from the fight, however UFC announced his fight against no. 5 ranked Aleksandar Rakić at UFC 308. On the other hand, Pereira has been matched up against Khalil Rountree Jr. for UFC 307. Many veterans think that this matchup is not fair, especially because Rountree is ranked eight in the light heavyweight category.

Jan Blachowicz, who lost to Pereira in 2023, recently stated, “I feel like it’s special protection for Pereira.” However Chael Sonnen and even Dana White gave reasons for this matchup.

Chael Sonnen and Dana White put forth their reason for Khalil Rountree’s matchup

When it came to the ex-UFC fighter, he stated that ‘Poatan’s’ deadly and intimidating style was just going to make Rountree thrive more. This is because the latter has a background in Muay Thai and even shifted to Thailand to train better for his fights. Sonnen stated that Rountree does his best performance with a deadly opponent.

He added, “I’m just sharing with you, that Rountree is the wrong matchup. All those scary punches and kicks that Pereira does, that’s when Rountree does his finest work. I’ve got to tell you, this is a massive disaster for anybody who thinks the UFC is trying to protect Alex.” Rountree decided to shift to Thailand to enhance his Muay Thai background after losing to Johnny Walker. This has helped him because after the loss he now has 4 victories by KO.

Even the UFC CEO Dana White addressed this after fans were not happy with the matchup. He said, “He [Ankalaev] didn’t skip over, he’s got a fight coming up. We were laying the fights out now, Ankalaev’s got a fight lined up, go in there, do your thing, look great you’re next. It’s clear Rountree makes a lot of sense and you said it yourself, ‘No way in hell that’s not a fun one.’ Timing is everything.”

What are your thoughts about the entire fiasco? Let us know in the comments below.