A former UFC fighter still wants to see the promotion sacrifice its light heavyweight champion in order to secure a star from another organization.
Magomed Ankalaev is preparing to face Alex Pereira at UFC 320 in a rematch of the pay-per-view main event that saw the Dagestani unseat the Brazilian this past March.
Before reaching the light heavyweight throne, Ankalaev was widely touted as a future champ but struggled to secure his opportunity following a disappointing draw in a 2022 title fight.
Many attributed the promotion’s apparent indifference toward the Russian to his low-key personality and discussions about his unentertaining fight style. That even led UFC analyst Din Thomas to advise the promotion to use Ankalaev as a negotiation tool to secure arguably the PFL’s biggest star.
And even with Ankalaev as champion, Thomas has not changed his view…
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Din Thomas defends his Magomed Ankalaev take following recent backlash
Thomas told the UFC to trade Ankalaev for Dakota Ditcheva prior to the Dagestani’s victory at UFC 313. The suggestion recently resurfaced on social media, bringing about a fresh wave of backlash toward the ex-lightweight.
The 48-year-old was recently confronted about the take by Daniel Cormier during an episode of the former two-division champion’s 3 Rounds YouTube show.
Thomas clarified that the initial comments came before Ankalaev was champion, but that point was rendered null and void when ‘Dinyero’ admitted that he still holds the same view days out from the 205-pound king’s first title defense.
“I’ve been saying this for two years,” Thomas said. “When Ankalaev was running around trying to get fights, begging for fights, I said, ‘Trade his a— to the PFL.’
“The clip was actually a year ago…I went back after all this thing blew up…conveniently now when he’s a champion…and not only am I doubling down, I’m tripling down.
“I am still saying that it would be a better trade,” Thomas continued. “Dakota Ditcheva, she is 15-0 with an 80 percent knockout rate! If you don’t think that the UFC could make her a star, one of the biggest stars in all of MMA…she would be the biggest star in the UFC.
“They would do with her the way they did Ronda (Rousey), the way they tried to do Holly Holm, the way they tried to do Paige VanZant…the way they tried to market Sean O’Malley.”
Ditcheva recently signed a new PFL deal, ending any immediate talks of a UFC move for the undefeated 27-year-old.
Din Thomas also caused a stir with his Khamzat Chimaev comments
Ankalaev is not the only UFC star to have been on the receiving end of some disparaging comments from Thomas this year.
Before Khamzat Chimaev dominated Dricus du Plessis at UFC 319 in August to become middleweight king, Thomas had suggested that a title crowning for the Chechen fighter would be extremely bad for the sport.
“If Khamzat wins, it’s a disaster, actually,” Thomas said during an appearance on The Bohnfire.
“If he does show up and he does win, do we trust him to be able to fight again? We need movement. I hate when it’s just static and there’s no movement in these divisions. In order for there to be movement…the champions have to fight.
“If you’re a champion and you’re not willing to fight regularly…it’s bad for the division, it’s bad for the sport,” Thomas added.