UFC light heavyweight champion Magomed Ankalaev’s patience is wearing thin with Alex Pereira.
Ankalaev defeated Pereira at UFC 313, bringing an end to the Brazilian’s previously dominant reign at 205 pounds in his fourth defense.
Plans were quickly laid out for another chapter in the pair’s rivalry, with Ankalaev publicly accepting a rematch against Pereira in the aftermath of his long-awaited title triumph.
But their second dance remains without a date on the calendar, much to the frustration of the newly crowned light heavyweight king…
Magomed Ankalaev continues to troll Alex Pereira for title fight delay
Ankalaev has accused Pereira of delaying things, claiming ‘Poatan’ has turned down numerous offers for his championship rematch this summer.
Things appeared to be explained when a post on Pereira’s X targeted the UFC, hinting at a rift between the promotion and one of its biggest stars. The former two-division champ later claimed to have been hacked.
Since then, Pereira has set his sights back on Ankalaev and teased fight news soon. But that evidently hasn’t been enough to satisfy a hungry champ who is after his first defense.
In the latest instalment of Ankalaev mocking his foe, the Dagestani appeared in the comments section of a promotional video for a UFC sponsor that featured Pereira alongside Mauricio Ruffy.
“This is why he don’t want to fight,” Ankalaev wrote.
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Islam Makhachev’s manager reveals Alex Pereira’s deadline
Pereira has returned to training and looks to be gearing up for his return to action. That’s likely a good thing considering the recent threatening remarks from Ali Abdelaziz.
During UFC 316 fight week, Ankalaev’s manager gave Pereira a deadline, threatening that they would move on from the rematch with ‘Poatan’ and find a new challenger should he not accept the fight for October at the latest.
“Listen, we got asked to fight International Fight Week, we said yes,” Abdelaziz said. “We got asked to fight Alex in August, we said yes. We got asked to fight October.
“This is what Maga is saying: ‘Alex is at every event. He’s on vacations, he’s doing this – I don’t know if he’s really going to fight me or he’s just having fun. … I’m killing myself in the gym. I don’t know when I’m fighting him. I’m the champion, I feel like I’m the challenger.’
“I said if he’s not ready, let me get him some of these other guys,” Abdelaziz added. “I think Alex Pereira earned it, and I think he deserves it. If we have to wait, it’s OK. … (but a) hundred percent — if it’s not Abu Dhabi, he will fight someone else, for sure.”
Many are expecting Ankalaev vs. Pereira 2 to find its way onto the UFC’s annual October pay-per-view in Abu Dhabi. But with talk of Islam Makhachev’s welterweight title shot topping that lineup, perhaps the UFC will have other plans for the light heavyweight gold.