While Magomed Ankalaev has the grappling skills to potentially ragdoll Alex Pereira, according to an ex-heavyweight contender, the Russian has more than one route to victory.
At UFC 313, inside the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, the Dagestani will challenge ‘Poatan’ for the 205-pound throne.
However, while legends like Michael Bisping are already complaining about Pereira vs Jon Jones, others are convinced his rival has a chance to spoil the party.
And it could be via a different method than most think.
WOW: Magomed Ankalaev makes shock admission during UFC 313 fight week
Brendan Schaub says Alex Pereira vs Magomed Ankalaev is a battle of strikers
While many view Magomed Ankalaev as a wrestling specialist, Brendan Schaub thinks that couldn’t be further from the truth.
He says the title challenger is a striker, meaning fans are in for a treat when the MMA star throws down with Alex Pereira on Saturday night.
In a video uploaded to his YouTube channel, Schaub explained: “The main event, I can’t wait for it. This has been, for Alex, especially since he got to light heavyweight, everyone’s like, ‘He needs to fight a grappler, that’s his Achilles heel’.
“I can’t emphasize this enough, listen to me very carefully: I know Ankalaev is a Dagestani, we know they have great wrestling backgrounds, but he doesn’t train with Khabib Nurmagomedov’s team.
“His background is sambo, but his fight style could not be any more clear. All of the facts show this.
“Ankalaev, listen to me very f—— carefully, is a striker by all means, he fancies himself a striker. This is not a test of grappler vs striker, the fight at UFC 313, is striker vs striker.”
Daniel Cormier gets shock as he tries to test Alex Pereira’s wrestling ahead of UFC 313
While Schaub is convinced Ankalaev will stay on the feet with Pereira, others still think grappling is his best course to victory.
Luckily, the Brazilian has prepared for wrestling throughout camp, and even more so when Daniel Cormier attempted to take him down earlier this week.
Whenever the American spots the King of his old division, he can’t resist shooting for a single leg.
However, this time around, Cormier got a shock with how Pereira reacted to his takedown attempt.