Alex Pereira was quick to express his wish for a rematch against Magomed Ankalaev following his defeat at UFC 313. “Poatan” revealed his desire to fight Ankalaev again through a few social media updates within a day after his loss against “Big Ank.” However, recent rumors said that he refused two suggested dates for the rematch.
Ankalaev’s manager, Ali Abdelaziz, recently revealed his experience regarding those rumors. His words indicated that there was indeed some truth behind the gossip about Pereira turning down the fight twice.
Delaying the Fight Will Be Disadvantageous for Alex Pereira, Says Magomed Ankalaev’s Manager
Several UFC stars, including Georges St-Pierre and Justin Gaethje, have successfully avenged their losses in the rematches of the original encounters. However, in most cases, there is a significant gap between the timelines of the first encounters and their rematches.
On the contrary, only a handful of fighters like Conor McGregor have tasted success in immediate rematches, with most failing in their attempts to avenge their losses.
Pereira went relatively dormant after expressing his desire for the rematch against Ankalaev, which got several fans concerned about his future in the UFC. Many of them were shocked when one of “Big Ank’s” X updates disclosed that Pereira had turned down three dates for their rematch in “June,” “July,” and “August.”
“Alex [is] done. He [is] never coming back. Let’s move on. June, July, August, I said ‘Yes’,” stated Ankalaev.
Despite Ankalaev’s revelation, there weren’t many sources to verify his allegations. However, in a recent interview with Submission Radio, Ankalaev’s manager, Abdelaziz, detailed his experience of the saga, which revealed that “Big Ank’s” allegations were partially true.
Abdelaziz mentioned, “I can tell you the truth. Ankalaev was asked to fight in June, July, or August. Ankalaev said ‘Yes’ to all of these dates.”
However, he soon corrected himself, saying, “Sorry. [The proposed months were] June and August. We said ‘Yes’ to both. I don’t know if the UFC asked him [Pereira] or didn’t ask him [about having the rematch in one of these months].”
Abdelaziz also supported Pereira, implying that a long timeout is often necessary after a star like him falls. Nevertheless, he indicated that Pereira might put himself at a disadvantage if he takes an unusually long hiatus before the fight.
“I believe Alex Pereira deserves time to rest. But I also believe, [the] more time you give Anakalev to get ready, it [Ankalaev] is going to be more problem [a bigger problem] for him.”
About a week back, Pereira spoke to his fans about his comeback after a long time of inactivity. “Poatan” didn’t have a specific timeline for his light heavyweight title rematch, but Abdelaziz’s comments during his interview indicated that fans can expect him to return within this year.