It’s almost time for Alex Pereira and Magomed Ankalaev to fight again, and tension is building.
Next Saturday, Pereira and Ankalaev square off in the main event of UFC 320 in Las Vegas. It’s a rematch of their light heavyweight title fight at UFC 313, where Ankalaev won the title in a razor-close fight. Now, both men are already in Las Vegas for their final preparations, and according to Pereira, they nearly had a run-in at the UFC Performance Institute.
“Something funny happened when we left the P.I.,”
Pereira said on his YouTube channel. “I saw Ankalaev’s coach. He was there, and I was looking at him. You could tell he was looking at us, trying to say hi, but I didn’t want to talk too much. But I didn’t see Ankalaev. It was funny. When we left the P.I., I left and went to the car. When I got to the car, a guy from my team was still there, and he saw a P.I. staff, and she was saying, ‘Ankalaev, you can come. He already left.’
“He was hiding from me. He thinks I’m going to meet him, and I’m going to fight him. I’m not an idiot. We’re getting ready for a fight. I’m a professional. But to think about it and hide in a room, and the girl said, ‘You can come, he already left.’ What the f*ck?”
Pereira’s coach, Plinio Cruz, suggested Ankalaev’s reluctance to cross paths could be related to a recent Tweet from Ankalaev, where he promised to send Pereira back to his old job “at the tire shop” after UFC 320.
“He’s talking nonsense,” Pereira said when learning about Ankalaev’s Tweet. “… I was thinking he’s going to hide inside the P.I. with fear, now I know. I thought the UFC asked him to. When we got there, security came, and I thought, ‘It’s never been like this.’ I’ve never demonstrated that I wanted to fight, and I stayed there. But now I know he’s talking nonsense. If I say something, I’ll stay here and hold things down. But the point of him hiding inside the room because I’m in the same environment; he’s a chump.”
It’s also possible that Ankalaev had no say in the matter. It’s not uncommon for the UFC to keep fighters separated when there’s the risk of a scene. And Pereira has had such run-ins at the P.I. before, nearly fighting Jamahal Hill once. Perhaps promotional officials were the ones interceding in this instance, but Pereira remains skeptical.
“Sometimes it’s like they say, it could be his manager,” Pereira said. “Everyone says that, but then we see that his manager isn’t there, so now it’s up to him. But really, he can say that and more. I’ll just stay in my lane. I’m never going to mess with him. I’m never going to get there. Of course, if he comes at me, I’m going to defend myself. But then what kind of champ is that? He’s a dogshit champ. That’s it. The only dumb thing I said. Not because of what he says, but today he has to hide in a room. He showed that he’s a chump. He’s hiding now, but we’ll be in the octagon. There’s nowhere to go unless he climbs the cage. He’s a dogshit champion.”
UFC 320 takes place on Oct. 11
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Fight. Charles Oliveira gets Matuesz Gamrot as replacement opponent in UFC Rio main event.
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VIDEO STEW
Contender Series contract announcements.
Contender Series highlights.
Jake Paul vs. Tank Davis press conference from Miami.
Daniel Cormier and Din Thomas on Charles Oliveira and other stuff.
Michael Bisping and Paul Felder on Charles.
FLAVOR IN YOUR EAR
Fighter vs. Writer.
SOCIAL MEDIA BOUILLABAISSE
Game on.
I mean, he might though.
Great hat.
It will not be 80,000. It’s gonna be like 4,000 disinterested politicians.
I don’t know what this is about, but OK.
And Jake really loves this line. He says it once a presser. Like when Izzy kept going to “frozen like Elsa.” Stop trying to make fetch happen.
FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS
Charles Oliveira (35-11) vs. Mateusz Gamrot (25-3); UFC Rio, Oct. 11.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Seems like Alex Pereira is ready to fight Magomed Ankalaev. My best guess is Big Ank wasn’t ducking him, but that it was a UFC call. On fight week, they’d let them jaw at each other to build drama, but this far out, no need. But the fact that Pereira is so upset about it tells me he’s fired up for this fight. Poatan coming for his head next weekend.
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