Magomed Ankalaev Finally Responds to Alex Pereira’s ‘Are You Still Alive’ Remark
This past weekend, after returning to winning ways at UFC Abu Dhabi, Magomed Ankalaev called out former two-division champion Alex Pereira for a trilogy bout.
Ankalaev dethroned Pereira by unanimous decision at UFC 313. After the title loss, the Brazilian was granted an immediate title rematch, and at UFC 320, he TKO’d Ankalaev in 80 seconds to recapture the 205-pound throne.
After becoming a two-time UFC light heavyweight champion, “Poatan” decided to vacate and move up to heavyweight. On June 14, Pereira faced Ciryl Gane at the White House for the interim heavyweight championship. If Pereira had to get past “Bon Gamin,” he would have become the first fighter in UFC history to have attained three-division glory (although the third belt would have been interim).
However, “Poatan” was knocked out in Round 2 and sent back to the drawing board by Gane.
Ankalaev, on the other hand, after securing a TKO win over Bogdan Guskov, called out Pereira for a trilogy bout. At the post-fight presser, he quipped:
“There’s somebody out there who calls himself Chama and said something like, ‘Are you still alive?’ Well, if he [Alex Pereira] wants to come down and take this fight, I’m sure the UFC would also be very happy to make that fight happen.”
Check out Magomed Ankalaev’s comments about Alex Pereira below:
Alex Pereira has confirmed that he is not moving down to 205 pounds
Alex Pereira signed a new contract with the UFC before the White House card and has clearly stated that he will continue competing at 265 pounds and has no intention of moving down.
Therefore, even if Magomed Ankalaev wants a rematch, it can only materialize if the latter moves up to heavyweight. However, given the current landscape of the light heavyweight division, Ankalaev would likely look to recapture the 205-pound throne over a potential heavyweight move.
The UFC brass are also unlikely to entertain anything Ankalaev wants at the moment, as although he defeated Bogdan Guskov, the fight turned into a snoozefest and was heavily booed by the Etihad Arena crowd in Abu Dhabi.
