Light heavyweight contender Magomed Ankalaev had plenty to say to champion Alex Pereira ahead of their UFC 313 bout.
The Russian fighter rarely trash talks before a fight, but he had some strong comments on Alex Pereira’s time in the light heavyweight division. Coming off a unanimous decision win over Alexander Rakic, Ankalaev is set to face Pereira at UFC 313. The Russian admits that the fight has been a long time coming and believes “Chama” has been protected from worthy opponents, but all that is about to change.
In an interview with Ag Fight, Ankalaev spoke about Pereira’s title reign and his eagerness to finally snatch the title from the Brazilian’s hands.
“You know, what I will bring if I become the champion is that the UFC will have a champion who doesn’t need to be protected,” Magomed Ankalaev stated to Ag Fight earlier this week, discussing his title fight against Alex Pereira. “It’s not going to be somebody who picks his opponents. It’s going to be somebody who is going to accept all the fights, all the opponents, anywhere, anyplace, anytime.”
“I’d like to say that I see in this fight everyone is against me,” Ankalaev said. “Everyone is saying ‘Chama! Chama! Chama!’ But guess what? Chama’s time is over. After this Saturday night, after the fight, you will all love me. The same people who are saying Chama now are going to be saying, ‘No Chama! It’s Ankalaev time.’”
“I wasn’t upset about the last [title] fight,” Ankalaev said. “I have nobody to blame but myself. We saw the fight. The whole world saw the fight, but it happened the way it happened. Now it’s a whole different ballgame. It’s a different fight, a different opponent.”
Ankalaev is regarded as the No. 1 contender and was slated to get a title shot, but a split draw with Jan Blachowicz stalled this opportunity. He says Pereira should be thankful to UFC CEO Dana White for shielding him from Ankalaev.
“You know what? Honestly, Pereira should thank Dana White for protecting him this whole time. Now, it’s going to be a whole different thing,” Ankalaev said.
During the pre-fight interview, Ankalaev spoke about his game plan to defeat Pereira. The Russian is confident about his victory and plans to walk out of the cage victorious.
“We’re planning on absolutely dominating him on Saturday,” Ankalaev said. “We’re going to make sure that Chama has no chances. Whether or not he stays in the sport or decides to go back to the tire shop, that’s up to him. He’s going to be the one who has to make that decision.”
“For now, we’re not concentrating on what’s going to happen afterward,” Ankalaev said. “Right now, we’ve got a fight in front of us. Let’s go out there, let’s win, and then afterward we’ll think about who’s going to get the rematch or what’s next.”
