Some rivalries grow beyond the fighters themselves, and Alex Pereira vs. Magomed Ankalaev is shaping up to be one of them. The two first clashed on March 8 at UFC 313, where Ankalaev ended Pereira’s reign as light heavyweight champion. With a dominant unanimous decision, Ankalaev claimed the UFC light heavyweight title and set the stage for an even fiercer rematch.

Now, Alex Pereira and Magomed Ankalaev came face-to-face one last time ahead of their highly anticipated rematch at UFC 320 on October 4, set to take place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Months of simmering tension erupted at the press conference, turning into a fiery verbal exchange between the two contenders.

Magomed Ankalaev claims he killed ‘chama’

As the press conference unfolded, Championship Rounds shared a clip on X of Alex Pereira and Magomed Ankalaev trading barbs, lacing their back-and-forth with promises and threats of a bigger battle to come. “I was on my worst day, and that’s all he could do?” Pereira declared confidently. Never one to shy away from verbal sparring, Ankalaev fired back in Russian, with his translator stepping in to deliver the message.

“I did to you whatever I wanted to do. You’re ready now, so we’re gonna see on Saturday,” Ankalaev shot back. “On Saturday, your manager won’t be there to help you. Chama,” Pereira added. “There is no more Chama. We killed it,” Ankalaev responded. This provoked the fans gathered for the presser to go wild, as the entire venue briefly erupted with chants of ‘chama,’ making it clear who they were there to support. 

It wasn’t long before fans took notice, with the clip of their heated back-and-forth quickly making waves across social media.

Did Alex Pereira look scared?

Fans have been eagerly awaiting the rematch for months, with the trash talk between Pereira and Ankalaev only fueling the anticipation. One user even revisited their first fight to take a shot at Ankalaev, pointing out a detail meant to put him in his place. The user wrote, “Failed 12 out of 12 takedown attempts. Saying s—t like that is crazy.” However, Ankalaev outstruck the multi-time kickboxing champion, landing 30 more total strikes.

Another user claimed ‘Poatan’ might not be confident about a win. The user commented, “Poatard looks nervous, he getting knocked out.” But Pereira looked angrier than nervous. 

Someone else was excited about the rivalry between the fighters. The user claimed, “Both are fuming someone’s getting kod.” Well, that will bring an emphatic end to one of the greatest rivalries between fighters.

The next user reminded Ankalaev of what happened in the first fight. The user remarked, “Alex literally turned him into a wrestler cuz his legs couldn’t handle the kicks in the first round.”

Meanwhile, this user seems to have been left bamboozled thanks to the presser. The user wrote, “This press conference making me lose brain cells.” Well, neither man speaks the best English, so the war appeared to stretch between the translators as well. 

It’s difficult to tell who will get their hand raised on fight night, but who do you think won the war of words? And will it continue when the fight begins?