UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira says Magomed Ankalaev only has himself to blame for getting passed over for a title shot.
At UFC 307, Pereira returns to action to defend his title against an unlikely opponent in Khalil Rountree, who currently sits at No. 8 in the promotion’s rankings. Ankalaev (19-1-1 MMA, 10-1-1 UFC), who sits at No. 2, was upset he was not given the opportunity.
Pereira heard the things Ankalaev’s manager said about the situation, which he believes only made everything worse.
“Even his manager, super renowned guy, guy famous in the MMA world, go and says like, ‘Oh, this guy’s not going to fight. Go talk to Dana White.’ But Dana White don’t want to make the matchup,” Pereira told Kevin Iole through an interpreter. “Then he goes and days that the fact that Ankalaev is not fighting for the title is a joke. It was like clown stuff.
“So now, the UFC is pissed, why? Because the UFC and Dana White, and the guys that decide, so they’re a joke? They’re a clown? They’re a circus? So, you’ve got to sort that with the organization.”
Ankalaev has not lost a fight since March 2018, in a submission loss to Paul Craig. Since then, the Dagestani light heavyweight has gone 10-0-1, but has not yet earned a shot at the title in a division that typically doesn’t see streaks that long go unrewarded.
Ankalaev is currently scheduled to face Aleksandar Rakic at UFC 308 but was upset things were not shuffled around with the announcement of Pereira vs. Rountree.
Pereira said he’s more than willing to fight Anklalev. But putting it bluntly, the champ says Ankalaev repeatedly getting overlooked is on game, which doesn’t move the needle.
“Honestly, it’s not my fault that Ankalaev have such a boring style of fighting that nobody wants to watch, that the guys don’t want to put him in,” Pereira said. “I’m ready to fight the guy. He’s ready to fight me, so whenever they put that fight. People talk about my ground, so there’s a good chance I’m going to show everybody.
