Magomed Ankalaev Confident About His Victory Against Aleksander Rakic Despite Being Denied a Match With Alex Pereira
Magomed Ankalaev remains confident about his victory against Aleksander Rakic, undeterred by being denied a match with Alex Pereira, focusing on a strong performance.
![Magomed Ankalaev, and Alex Pereira Instagram, Getty](https://www.pinkvilla.com/images/2024-08/884899374_untitled-design-2024-08-17t173300-114.jpg)
Magomed Ankalaev has made his stance clear about UFC’s perplexing booking. After Alex Pereira dominated the likes of Jamahal Hill and Jiri Prochazka, the next in line was supposed to be Magomed Ankalaev. With the bout almost certain, the UFC realm was in for a shock when Dana White booked Ankalaev against Aleksander Rakic. While this was not the ideal match Ankalaev was looking forward to, the Russian fighter has expressed his motive coming into the fight.
In a recent social media post, Anakalaev mentioned that he is not seeking sympathy. In fact, he wanted to dominate his opponent and send a clear message to the UFC about his ability to face Alex Pereira. Ankalaev said, “I Received a lot of messages today regarding the Light Heavyweight title fight, my job is to smash people's face who they put in front of me, I will destroy Rakic in Abu Dhabi and I will not be denied, I don't need nobody to feel bad for me.”
When Alex Pereira announced that he would be fighting for a third time this year, it seemed like the obvious choice would be Magomed Ankalaev. The Russian has only suffered one loss in the promotion led by Dana White, making him the perfect match for Pereira. Several personalities, including Daniel Cormier, have mentioned how Ankalaev's grappling could prove to be fatal for Pereira in the fight.
Ankalaev was involved in heavy trash-talking with Alex Pereira, issuing a challenge to Poatan, and stating that he would knock Pereira out within the first fifteen minutes. Ankalaev also claimed that he would not use his grappling skills against Pereira and would beat him in striking. He mentioned that Pereira has been winning matches because he hasn’t faced anybody like Magomed Ankalaev so far. Additionally, he referred to Jamahal Hill and Jiri Prochazka as a 'street fighter' and 'fake ninja', showing great confidence in his victory.
Alex Pereira has been focused on improving as a fighter and has chosen not to respond to Magomed Ankalaev's trash talk. He has been scheduled to main event the UFC 307 card against Khalil Rountree Jr. This decision has caused dissatisfaction among fighters like Jan Blachowicz, who criticized the UFC for not giving a title shot to more deserving light heavyweight fighters ahead of Rountree Jr. The situation has already stirred quite a controversy, and it will be interesting to see how things unfold in the future.
ALSO READ: Magomed Ankalaev Issues Strong Warning to Poatan, Says ‘Alex Pereira Won’t Be Able to Touch Him’
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