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Alex Pereira Accuses Magomed Ankalaev of ‘Ducking’ Championship Fight: Didn’t Want to Fight’
Alex Pereira accuses Magomed Ankalaev of dodging a title fight, claiming Ankalaev is avoiding a championship bout despite Pereira’s rise in the rankings.
Alex Pereira has accused Magomed Ankalaev of turning down a title fight. After trampling Jamahal Hill and Jiri Prochazka in UFC 300 and 303, Pereira was supposed to face Magomed Ankalaev for the title fight. However, in what was a shocking turn of events, the UFC announced Khalil Rountree Jr. as the next opponent for Poatan. Such a decision left the UFC world reeling with Jan Blachowicz and Jamahal Hill vehemently protesting the move.
However, there might be another side of the story. Appearing on his YouTube channel recently, the UFC light heavyweight champion revealed a shocking detail. Alex Pereira said, “I threw that to the organisation, left it very clear, but Ankalaev didn’t want to fight against me. I don’t know the reason, if it was the location if he just didn’t want. He isn’t the champion, he can’t pick anything… I think it’s the opportunity that shows up, he didn’t want it. He has his reasoning, I don’t know what it is.”
Well, this is quite surprising since Magomed Ankalaev too, expressed his dissatisfaction at being pitted against Aleksandar Rakic. He asked his fans not to sympathize with him for the missed opportunity and instead, promised to beat Rakic and wait for Poatan. Coming to Alex Pereira, it seems as if Jamahal Hill and Jan Blachowicz aren’t the only UFC fighters that have been taken aback by the inclusion of Khalil Rountree Jr. into the title mix.
Continuing on his video, Pereira stated that he too, was initially surprised to find out Khalil Rountree Jr. has been announced. However, Poatan later went on to analyse the possible reasoning that went behind confirming the matchup. According to the light heavyweight champion, it was the aggressive fighting style of Rountree Jr. that might have intrigued the UFC.
Pereira opined that the UFC is trying to make some exciting fights for the crowd to enjoy. They are not concerned about the rankings of fighters as long as they are hardworking. Well, Pereira might be happy with his upcoming opponent, but it could well be the end of his title reign. As per Chael Sonnen’s statement, Khalil Rountree Jr. will wait for Poatan to strike. That way, he will have the opportunity to strike back with Pereira’s guards down.
Sonnen further termed the matchup as ‘worse’. This was because he thought that Alex Pereira might as well lose his light heavyweight title and hence, the hype around him will subside. Thus, with a sudden gush of doubts and controversies wrapping the light heavyweight division, come UFC 307, all the smoke is expected to clear out with the champion standing tall.
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