“UFC never offered a fight…” – MMA manager relies on “liar” Alex Pereira and reveals the truth about the evasion allegations against Magomed Ankalaev

It is difficult to argue that Magomed Ankalaev No one deserves a title fight more than Khalil Rountree Jr. The Dagestani is number 2 in the 205-pound division, is the only top-5 light heavyweight who has not suffered a defeat, and whose champion Alex Pereira has not yet defeated. Not to mention his winning streak of twelve fights.

Instead, 8th place Khalil Rountree Jr.who was recently suspended for accidentally taking a performance-enhancing drug earlier this year, is scheduled to face “Poatan” for the light heavyweight gold medal at UFC 307 in October. The UFC world is naturally outraged that Ankalaev was allegedly passed over once again. But Alex Pereira has claimed that this is only because Ankalaev turned down a fight with him. Since “Poatan” said this, Ankalaev and his team have denied the champion's claims, with the Dagestani's manager, Ali Abdelaziz, firing the latest salvo in the ongoing affair.

Ankalaev's manager is 100% sure that the UFC did not offer Alex Pereira a fight

Two days ago, Alex Pereira said on his YouTube channel about Magomed Ankalaev and a title fight that “he didn't want it.” Almost immediately, Ankalaev and his team, including manager Ali Abdelaziz, came forward and vigorously denied turning down a fight against Pereira later this year.

Of course, the Dagestani had turned down a title fight against “Poatan” at UFC 300 because the card took place just three days after the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. As a devout Muslim, Anakalev fasted the entire month and therefore could not complete a full training camp or train for the fight.

But as for turning down a chance to fight Pereira at UFC 307, Ankalaev and Co. have staunchly denied it. Abdelaziz, for example, said in a recent tweet that he could 100% say Ankalaev did not get an offer and that is why he did not turn down a fight against Pereira later this year.

“Just to be clear: The UFC never offered Magomed Ankalaev a fight against Alex Perreira, I am 100% sure of that,” wrote the manager.

Instead, Anaklaev will face the number 5 in the world rankings. Alexander Rakic on the UFC 308 Abu Dhabi card the same month as Pereira-Rountree Jr. But Pereira essentially accused Ankalaev of avoiding him, which is one of the worst things a fighter can be accused of, and has incensed Ankalaev, who has vowed to call “Poatan” “eat your word”But this whole controversy has raised a very important question.

Who is right?

There are three possibilities here: either Ankalaev and his team are lying, or Pereira is lying, or there is a third possibility that we will discuss later. However, given the available facts, it is unclear who to believe. However, it seems unlikely that Ankalaev will turn down a title shot, especially against Pereira, with whom he has a relatively favorable matchup.

“Poatan” does his best work standing up, of course, which is where Ankalaev also likes to fight. But Ankalaev can also hold his own on the ground, which is considered Pereira's weakest point. On the other hand, Pereira is not exactly the type of person who lies so blatantly and treats other fighters so disrespectfully.

There is, of course, a third possibility: that the UFC told Pereira Ankalaev had turned down a fight with him when the Dagestani refused. The promotion is known for toying with fighters with different narratives to get them to accept fights, as was the case recently with Alexander Volkov and Sergei Pavlovich. The former training partners and friends accepted the fight because they were told the other had accepted it first. Their confusion was clearly evident during their pre-event clash.

In a seemingly similar move that backfired, the UFC promoted the fight between Dustin Poirier and Benoit Saint-Denis without officially signed contracts. The move backfired after Poirier revealed weeks before the event that he had not signed the fight agreements. Later, his ATT teammate Johnny Eblen revealed that the UFC was stingy with payment and announced the fight without any verbal agreements. There were also rumors that Poirier played his cards perfectly and negotiated a higher payday with this move.

One could also argue that Pereira was talking about the UFC 300 fight that Ankalaev turned down, but that seems unlikely since “Poatan” was clearly talking about UFC 307. What do you think about the controversy between Ankalaev and Pereira?