Magomed Ankalaev disputes Alex Pereira‘s claim that he turned down a fight, asserting he was never offered the opportunity, while Pereira maintains he has always wanted to fight Ankalaev after defending his UFC light heavyweight title.
Magomed Ankalaev faces Aleksandar Rakic just three weeks after Alex Pereira defends his UFC light heavyweight title against Khalil Rountree at UFC 307. He isn’t happy to see Pereira claim he turned down a shot at gold.
Pereira recently posted a video on his YouTube channel claiming that he expected to face Ankalaev next. According to Pereira, the Russian “didn’t want to fight me.”
It didn’t take long for Ankalaev to take to social media to refute the claims. He said he was never offered the opportunity.
“@AlexPereiraUFC you are a liar. You said I turned fire down against you @DanaWhite, @MickMaynard2 never offer me a fight against you,” Ankalaev wrote. “I’m gonna make you eat your word after I handle my business.”
Pereira vs. Rountree headlines UFC 307 on Oct. 5 in Salt Lake City. Meanwhile, Ankalaev draws Rakic on Oct. 26 at UFC 308 in Abu Dhabi.
In his video, Pereira claimed he “always wanted to fight against Ankalaev” after defending his 205-pound belt with a knockout over Jiri Prochazka at UFC 300. However, the one-time title challenger “has made things difficult.”
“I don’t know the reason, if it was the location, if he didn’t want to fight,” Pereira said of Ankalaev. “He isn’t the champion, he can’t pick anything.”
“It’s the opportunity that shows up and he didn’t want it,” Pereira added. “He has his reasoning, I don’t know what it is.”
“But I came here to tell you I’m not scared of anyone,” Pereira continued. “Everyone knows my history and everything I’ve done, not only in MMA, but in kickboxing as well. It’s obvious that I want to fight this guy.”