Magomed Ankalaev is insisting that Alex Pereira had an unfair advantage in their first fight.
Ankalaev is gearing up to defend his light heavyweight title for the first time against Pereira in the UFC 320 main event, set for October 4 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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The two first clashed at UFC 313 this past March, where Ankalaev dethroned “Poatan” with a unanimous decision to capture the light heavyweight crown. While the Russian champ outworked Pereira on the feet across five hard-fought rounds, he also leaned heavily on his wrestling arsenal.
Still, Ankalaev’s grappling yielded nothing, as the resilient Brazilian shut down all 12 of his takedown attempts. Now, though, he believes it wasn’t a shortcoming in skill but rather an illicit tactic on Pereira’s part.
Magomed Ankalaev and Alex Pereira have been trading barbs ever since their first clash, and with UFC 320 drawing near, the rivalry is boiling over.
At a recent open workout in Las Vegas, the reigning light heavyweight champion accused “Poatan” of bending the rules in their UFC 313 showdown, alleging that Pereira greased up to make grappling exchanges far more difficult.
At a recent media interaction during an open workout in Las Vegas, the reigning light heavyweight champion doubled down on his coach Sukhrab Magomedov’s earlier accusations, claiming that “Poatan” bent the rules in their UFC 313 showdown by greasing up to make grappling exchanges nearly impossible.
Also, I told my coach right away during the rounds that I felt like he was greased," Magomed Ankalaev said through a translator. "He was just too slippery. These things happen in professional sport, I’m not accusing him of anything, but that’s just what I felt. I spar every day, I train every day, you can feel when people are slippery. It’s too much slippery. So I felt he was too greasy and that played a role also.
Ankalaev rides a 14-fight unbeaten streak, boasting victories over notable names such as Aleksandar Rakic, Johnny Walker, and Thiago Santos. The 33-year-old Russian stands with a professional slate of 22-1-1 and one no contest, his lone setback coming back in March 2018 when he was submitted by Paul Craig in the third round.
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