Alex Pereira and Magomed Ankalaev meet again in the main event of UFC 320.
Ankalaev had wanted to fight ‘Poatan’ for years, finally getting the chance to do so at UFC 313 in March.
Ankalaev was unable to get Pereira to the ground but no matter, the Russian outpointed Pereira in the striking department and won a unanimous decision to win the UFC light heavyweight championship.
Months later, the champion is set to make his first title defense in an immediate rematch against Pereira at UFC 320 on Oct. 4 in Las Vegas.
Should Pereira reclaim the throne, his series with Ankalaev will be all tied up at 1-1.
Ahead of the rematch, Pereira addressed the idea of a possible trilogy fight.
Alex Pereira doesn’t see Magomed Ankalaev trilogy happening after UFC 320
Ankalaev offered to fight Pereira again almost right away after handing him his first defeat in the light heavyweight division.
When asked if he’d rematch Ankalaev, Pereira made his stance clear.
“I think the story will be over,” Pereira said of Ankalaev in Portuguese in an interview with MMA Junkie (via Stake).
“It’s obviously out of my control. It’s up to the UFC.
“If they want to do it again, I’ll fight anyone.
“To be honest, from everything we’ve seen, I think with him losing, I don’t think he’s going to fight for the title any more,” Pereira said of the champion.
Fans weighed in on Pereira’s comments on social media.
“Because [Ankalaev] is not that big of a draw if Alex goes out there and flat lines him, he probably gets pushed really far back down the ladder to the belt,” one fan wrote on X.
“I really like Pereira but cmon now, if he says this now means he won’t fight him and he is asking for a way out of the trilogy unless UFC forces him to do so,” another fan suggested.
It took Magomed Ankalaev seven years to win UFC title
Ankalaev’s journey to the UFC gold was a long one.
After losing to Paul Craig in his UFC debut in 2018, Ankalaev won nine fights in a row to land his first UFC title opportunity in 2022 against former champ Jan Blachowicz.
However, neither man won the vacant belt that night, as their fight was scored a draw.
Ankalaev went back to the drawing board and it wasn’t until he had a 13-fight unbeaten streak that he was given a title shot against champion Pereira.