Magomed Ankalaev’s team accused Alex Pereira of using a gel-like substance to affect grappling exchanges at UFC 313.
Newly-minted UFC light heavyweight champion Magomed Ankalaev and his team believe Alex Pereira cheated inside the Octagon at UFC 313.
Ankalaev capped off a long, winding road back to the UFC light heavyweight title with a unanimous decision win over Pereira to end the Brazilian’s history-making title reign. While it was a back-and-forth fight, Ankalaev won most of the exchanges on the feet and in the clinch, stifling Pereira’s elite striking with an unpredictable approach and gameplan.
Pereira and Ankalaev left the Octagon cordially after an at-times heated buildup to UFC 313. But after pleasantries were exchanged between the two sides in the immediate aftermath, Ankalaev’s team ramped things back up with some perplexing allegations after their title fight.
Magomed Ankalaev’s coach accuses Alex Pereira of using gel to affect grappling at UFC 313
In a recent interview with Ushatayka, Ankalaev’s coach Sukhrab Magomedov accused Pereira of gaining an unfair advantage ahead of UFC 313.
“When Magomed pushed him against the fence in our corner, it seemed Pereira was greased with something,” Magomedov alleged. “Ankalaev said afterwards that he smelled like he had some sort of ointment on and he was sticky. The sweat didn’t drop off his body, it stuck. That’s what it looked like on his body too.
“Glover Teixeira is really known for stuff like this.”
As of this writing, there’s no direct evidence of any wrongdoing by Pereira and his team, nor have they publically addressed Magomedov’s allegations. Pereira successfully defended all 12 of Ankalaev’s takedown attempts over five rounds at UFC 313.
Magomed Ankalaev vs. Alex Pereira 2 verbally agreed for later this year
If Ankalaev’s allegations are proven true, they’ll add to what could be a wild buildup to an immediate rematch with Pereira. Ankalaev recently claimed that Pereira rematch talks are already underway, and they could meet again later this year.
Some have cried ‘robbery’ on the Ankalaev vs. Pereira scorecards after UFC 313, claiming Pereira deserved to retain the light heavyweight belt. But Tom Aspinall and others are perplexed by this notion and believe the judges got it right.
Meanwhile, Ankalaev extends his long light heavyweight unbeaten streak and is closing in on a Jon Jones-held record in the division. Before the title win over Pereira, Ankalaev earned recent wins over Aleksandar Rakić and Johnny Walker after fighting to a draw against Jan Blachowicz for the then-vacant title at UFC 282.
This is a developing story, and we’ll continue to bring you the latest on Ankalaev’s allegations as details surface.