At UFC 308 in Abu Dhabi, Magomed Ankalaev sent out an October showdown claiming to dethrone Alex Pereria the division champion by knock out in the first round.
Pereria, the current undisputed light heavyweight champion, seems to be less than interested. He was Headlined UFC 300 last weekend, defending his division crown in a one-sided opening round knockout, former champion, Jamahal Hill.
Alex Pereira rejects Magomed Ankalaev's callout to fight in Abu Dhabi:
"I don't want to fight at the end of the year, I want to fight sooner, so maybe that shows [Ankalaev] won't be ready. I don't know why he said that, this guy is complicated.
Honestly, I have to see what’s… pic.twitter.com/FyQ9dUiJqC
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) April 22, 2024
Ankalaev, a Russian finisher, returns to the UFC Apex facility back in January, and seeks his own knockout win against the Sao Paulo finisher, offering him a clash at UFC 308 in October.
Responding to the call-out by the Russian finisher, Pereira told MMA Fighting,
"I don’t want to fight at the end of the year. I want to fight sooner, so maybe that shows he (Magomed Ankalaev) won’t be ready. I don’t know why he said that. This guy is complicated. Honestly, I have to see what’s best. I’m here to fight, but I don’t understand best about other things like where is best [to fight] and where isn’t. If I have to fight there, I will, but if it’s not a date I want, then it’s not best for me. I can say no."
Pereira believed Ankalaev to be one of the possible options for his second light heavyweight title defense after the Russian’s knockout of Johnny Walker.
He is expected to be medically cleared to train in early May after fracturing a toe two weeks before UFC 300, and then fracturing another toe during his victory over Hill.
The current undisputed light heavyweight champion lives and trains in nearby Danbury, CT, and is 2-0 with two title-winning knockouts in pay-per-view headliners at Madison Square Garden.
