Alex Pereira has the fans in Las Vegas on his side as he looks to avenge his loss to Magomed Ankalaev.
The light heavyweight championship rematch between Ankalaev and Pereira headlines UFC 320 this Saturday at T-Mobile Arena, and it didn’t take long for the fighters to exchange words at a pre-fight press conference for the event Thursday. Fans at the press conference added fuel to the fire, booing Ankalaev whenever he took the microphone, prompting the champion to respond.
“Them booing me doesn’t mean
they don’t like me,” Ankalaev said. “The reason is I keep beating their favorite fighters and they’re just mad at me. I can’t do nothing about it.”
“The reason he became a champion is because I wasn’t there and now I’m here, I’m going to put a stamp on this on Saturday,” Ankalaev added. “Beat him again and then all the questions will be answered.”
In their first fight at UFC 313 this past March, Ankalaev scored a unanimous decision win over “Poatan.” The bout was light in drama, but by the end of the five-round contest it was Ankalaev who walked out with an uncontroversial victory.
Still, the fact that he was still standing at the end of the fight left Pereira wanting more.
“I was on my worst day and that’s all he could do?” Pereira said.
“I did whatever I wanted to do,” Ankalaev replied. “There was nothing else I could do. The good thing is you’re ready now so we’re going to see on Saturday.”
In the leadup to the rematch, Ankalaev and Pereira have had several public disagreements, including a run-in at the UFC Performance Institute that led to little being resolved. Pereira has accused Ankalaev of having his manager Ali Abdelaziz handle his social media, suggesting that Ankalaev can’t even keep track of his own feuds.
“On Saturday, your manager won’t be there to help you,” Pereira said, punctuating his remark with his trademark “Chama.”
However, Ankalaev was not moved and made it clear there will be “No Chama.
“There is no more Chama, we killed it.”
