Magomed Ankalaev (18-1-1, 1 NC) is set to face Aleksandar Rakić (14-4) at UFC 308 on October 26. Meanwhile, Alex Pereira (11-2) defends his title against Khalil Rountree Jr. (13-5, 1 NC) at UFC 307 on October 5.
On Saturday, the Light Heavyweight Champion said on his YouTube channel that Magomed Ankalaev didn’t want to fight him.
“I always wanted to fight against Ankalaev; I threw that to the organization. Left it very clear, but Ankalaev didn’t want to fight against me…”
On X, Ankalaev denied Pereira’s ducking allegations.
“This is the biggest lie this not man style.”
This is the biggest lie this not man style
— Magomed Ankalaev (@AnkalaevM) August 25, 2024
Magomed Ankalaev last competed at UFC Fight Night on January 13th, where he knocked out Johnny Walker in round 2. Pereira last fought at UFC 303, where he defeated Jiří Procházka by KO in the second round to retain the title.