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Don’t blame Alex Pereira for the UFC’s decision to have him fight Khalil Rountree Jr. at UFC 307 instead of Magomed Ankalaev.
That was light heavyweight champion’s opinion of the situation when asked by Kevin Iole why he was fighting the No. 8 ranked Rountree instead of No. 2 ranked Ankalaev in Salt Lake City on October 5th. There’s been a lot of chatter in the sport on the decision, and it’s one that “Poatan” says was completely out of his heavy hands. Instead, he blames Ankalaev … and Ankalaev’s manager Ali Abdelaziz.
“Even his manager — super renowned guy, guy famous in the MMA world — goes and says, ‘Oh, this guy’s not going to fight. Go talk to Dana White,’” Pereira said through his translator. “But Dana White don’t want to make the match-up. Then [Adbelaziz] goes and says that the fact Ankalaev is not fighting for the title is a joke. It was like clown stuff.”
“So now the UFC is pissed. Why? Because the UFC and Dana White and the guys that decide, so they’re a joke? They’re a clown? They’re a circus? So you’ve got to sort that with the organization.”
Even if the UFC isn’t in a tiff with Abdelaziz, who manages several of the top fighters in the organization, Pereira believes Ankalaev’s less-than-exciting performances recently play a big factor in UFC 307’s booking decision.
“Honestly, it’s not my fault that Ankalaev has such a boring style of fighting that nobody wants to watch, that the guys don’t want to put him in,” he said. “I’m ready to fight the guy. He’s ready to fight me. So whenever they put that fight. People talk about my ground, so there’s a good chance I’m going to show everybody.”
Pereira fights Rountree this coming weekend and Ankalaev faces Aleksandar Rakic at UFC 308 on October 28th. If both men win, there’s a very good chance they’ll end up being their next opponent. But with the star of “Poatan” rising, Ankalaev will need a good performance if he wants the fans to get excited for a showdown.
Otherwise there are lots of other big money options for the Brazilian striker, ones the UFC would undoubtedly prefer if they aren’t shown a reason to change their minds.
