Alex Pereira vs. Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 313 was a tepid affair, with Ankalaev winning a unanimous decision over five rounds. Though, ‘Big Ank’ maintains it wasn’t his fault the fight was so lackluster.
The newly minted champion had all his takedowns snubbed, and managed to keep Pereira on the backfoot. Despite being a former GLORY Kickboxing world champion, ‘Poatan’ had nothing to offer Ankalaev on the feet besides a calf kick.
Responding to criticism of their performance, Ankalaev deflected any responsibility for a ‘boring fight.’
‘He kept running away’ … Magomed Ankalaev slams Alex Pereira’s performance at UFC 313
Speaking at the UFC 313 post-fight conference, Ankalaev revealed that the fight played out differently than he had prepared for and is willing to give Pereira a rematch.
“It was very different from what we envisioned,” Anklaev admitted. “As you know, usually Pereira hunts for the finish. . . . As you could see he was running away from me. . . . For 20 minutes this guy was running away from me. . . . Maybe in the rematch he can fight for real and not just run away the entire time.”
Will Magomed Ankalaev and Alex Pereira rematch?
Yes, there will likely be an immediate rematch between Ankalaev and Pereira. A one-round scoring difference prevented Pereira from taking home a split decision, but that doesn’t change the fact that he’s one of, if not the biggest-name active fighter on the UFC roster.
The only caveat is activity, as ‘Poatan’ made a name for himself by being extraordinarily marketable and active in the promotion. This means the UFC will likely pressure Ankalaev to turn around quickly like Aljamain Sterling and Merab Dvalishvili. This is especially likely considering Pereira’s age, which is 37.