Magomed Ankalaev called out Alex Pereira ahead of the title tilt at UFC 320.
In March, Ankalaev escaped “Poitan” as the indisputable light heavyweight champion, citing a unanimous decision victory over Brazilian Bruiser. Now Daguestani will try to prove that his victory was not a fluke when the two ran it in Las Vegas this Saturday night.
Things were mostly quiet in the months leading up to the sequel scrap, but after a break-in at the UFC Performance Institute, things got even more intense.
“You know, when I heard that was what he said, I was confused,” Ankaraev told MMA Fighting when asked about Pereira’s claims. “I was confused. Why would he say that? If you see the final battle, I bullied him in the fight. I put pressure on him. He was running away from me to the whole battle. I won the battle. I became a champion.
“So when I saw that he said he had hidden from him, I just wanted to understand from his mouth, why did he say it? So I found out why he was there where he was. Did you say it?”
“Then he started doing all sorts of things, and I was standing up to him in front of his face, so I didn’t even bother to hear any of the explanations.
Whether Ankalaev was hidden or not, he has nowhere to reach the first headlines of two loaded pay-per-view events this month.