Magomed Ankalaev feels like he doesn’t have the respect of Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), but he’s hoping to change that after his upcoming title fight with reigning UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira next weekend at UFC 313.
It has been a long time coming, but the matchup between Pereira and Ankalaev fill finally come to fruition on Mar. 8 LIVE on ESPN+ pay-per-view (PPV) from inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The two light heavyweights have been dancing around a matchup for almost two years and fight fans are glad they’ll finally do battle inside of the cage.
As expected, there’s been some trash talk exchanged between the two fighters. Pereira has taken a more stoic approach after making Ankalaev wait a little longer than anticipated for a title shot, but Ankalaev has been throwing shade as much as he can. This includes taking shots at Pereira’s training camp for UFC 313 and constant traveling leading up to next weekend.
Fight fans aren’t really used to seeing one of Pereira’s opponents talk trash to him, but Ankalaev is doing everything he can do ensure a victory. After all, it’s nothing personal for the Russian contender.
“I don’t care the way this affects him,” Ankalaev told Mania via translator (shown in the above player). “I don’t care if he takes it close to heart or not. What I know is we look at this fight as if it’s the last fight ever. We’re going to do whatever we can to make sure that we get this opportunity.
“We were supposed to get this opportunity a long time ago and he [Pereira] was the one withholding this chance from us for a long time. So we’re going to prepare to do whatever we can to win. And if he takes this thing personally that’s up to him. That’s not what we’re worried about.”
Ankalaev, 32, should have gotten his shot at Pereira long before UFC 313. The only loss of Ankalaev’s UFC career is a last-second submission to Paul Craig back in his Octagon debut in 2018. Since then, Ankalaev hasn’t lost in 13 trips to the cage and has captured wins over the likes of Aleksandr Rakic, Johnny Walker, Anthony Smith, Volkan Oezdemir, Nikita Krylov, and Ion Cutelaba.
Unfortunately, Ankalaev has had to wait much longer than expected to get this hands on Pereira. The entire process has been an emotional rollercoaster for the Russian fighter, but he’s glad the time has finally come.
“A lot of emotions,” he said. “Waiting is the worst thing you can do. You just sit there and you wait. Obviously there was a little bit of frustration going on, but we’ve been asking for this and waiting for this. It’s just been a long time, but now we finally got this opportunity and that’s behind us. We’re going to do whatever we can to make sure we get this victory.”
Sadly, Ankalaev doesn’t believe UFC respects him all that much heading into next weekend’s PPV card. The streaking contender is hoping to change that with a memorable performance against “Poatan.”
“I don’t know if they appreciate me yet, but after this fight they will make sure to appreciate me.”
