Alex Pereira attributes the decision to have Khalil Rountree Jr. as his UFC 307 opponent over Magomed Ankalaev to Ankalaev’s less exciting fighting style and potential issues between Ankalaev’s manager and the UFC, despite both fighters having similar knockout records.
Alex Pereira says it wasn’t his decision to put Khalil Rountree Jr. into the UFC 307 main event over Magomed Ankalaev. He believes part of that responsibility falls back on the Russian contender.
There was plenty of surprise when the UFC announced Rountree as Pereira’s next opponent over Ankalaev. Despite Ankalaev’s undefeated streak in his past 12 fights, he now faces Aleksandar Rakic in a potential No. 1 contender’s bout at UFC 308.
Pereira can’t explain why the UFC made that decision. However, he feels that stylistically, Ankalaev may have no one to blame but himself.
“Honestly, it’s not my fault that Ankalaev has such a boring style of fighting that nobody wants to watch,” Pereira told Kevin Iole ahead of UFC 307. “The guys don’t want to put him in.”
“I’m ready to fight the guy,” Pereira continued. “He’s ready to fight me, so whenever they put that fight together. People talk about my ground game, so there’s a good chance I’m going to show everybody in that fight.”
While he doesn’t control the UFC’s matchmaking, Pereira acknowledges that Ankalaev’s upcoming bout with Rakic should determine his next challenger at 205 pounds.
Will that actually happen? Pereira has no way to say for certain.
He thinks Ankalaev’s manager may have ruffled a few feathers at the UFC. “Talking about light heavyweight, absolutely, the winner of that fight deserves the next title shot,” Pereira said.
Even his manager, Ali Abdelaziz, super renowned guy, famous in the MMA world, goes and says like, ‘Oh, this guy’s not going to fight. Go talk to Dana White.’ But Dana White doesn’t want to make the matchup; it’s not Alex.”
Then he goes and says that the fact that Ankalaev is not fighting for the title is a joke. It was like clown stuff.
“So now, he’s saying the UFC is pissed, why?” Pereira questioned. “Because the UFC and Dana White, and the guys that decide, so they’re a joke? They’re clowns? They’re a circus? So, you’ve got to sort that out with the organization.”
Obviously, Pereira is staying focused on Rountree. Ankalaev is doing the same with his own fight scheduled just a few weeks later.
Still, Ankalaev responded to the light heavyweight champion’s comments with a reminder about their shared record of finishes in the UFC.
“Alex has six knockouts in UFC. I have six knockouts in UFC,” Ankalaev wrote on Twitter. “He knows why he’s not fighting me and fighting the No. 8 guy. Let’s be real.”
“Focus on your fight. I will do the same,” Ankalaev concluded. “We will see after if you will accept. Good luck, champ.”