Following the UFC 320 clash between Pereira and Ankalaev that ended with Pereira emerging victorious, Ankalaev revealed he wasn’t in top form while stepping into the octagon.
The former light heavyweight champion revealed he had suffered a rib injury before heading into the cage to defend his title against Pereira and said he should have never fought. However, his claims were scoffed at by Pereira, who also revealed he had major injuries he was dealing with before the fight.
“I’ve always been injured,” Pereira told Connect Cast. “Ankalaev is talking about a broken rib now. I don’t know what he had. Man, if you see my injuries today, fighting him today, he would feel like shit. He won’t come back to fighting again. ‘He was like that? Fuck, what am I doing in this organization?’ He would leave. He would quit, man.”
“I won’t even say anything,” Pereira added. “I’d bet with him. I will show my medical report, what I have and what he has. I doubt this guy has the things I have, man.”
When asked about Ankalaev’s rib injury specifically, since Pereira landed several strikes to that area leading to the knockout, “Poatan” thought it was “a bit strange” that Ankalaev was attacked with elbows to the ribs and wasn’t showing any pain immediately after the stoppage.
“He was hit more than 30 times, and when the fight was over he got up like nothing happened,” Pereira said. “It’s a bit strange.”
Ankalaev likely won’t be Pereira’s next opponent for a potential trilogy between the two top light heavyweights. He’ll have to win at least one fight before making a case for a third showdown, but Pereira has also teased a move to heavyweight to challenge the likes of Tom Aspinall and Jon Jones.
