Aljamain Sterling reacts to Alex Pereira's blunt "It won't be Ankalaev" tweet
Alex Pereira took to social media to downplay a rising light heavyweight contender as the next challenger for his belt, which attracted the attention of a former UFC bantamweight champion. In a campaign this calendar year that saw him notch three title defenses and win Fighter of the Year at the World MMA Awards, 'Poatan' seems like he's on top of the world.
Many in the sport think that Magomed Ankalaev should be the next in line for the 205-pound title, but the reigning champion does not seem to share this opinion. Pereira tweeted it won't be Ankalaev, which many took to mean that the dominant Russian MMA fighter would not be contending for the Brazilian knockout artist's belt next.
Aljamain Sterling retweeted this message from Pereira and kept his response succinct by simply posting an emoji of a pair of eyeballs, displaying his curiosity at this situation.
Check out Sterling's retweet of Pereira's message about Ankalaev below
Alex Pereira receives a response from Magomed Ankalaev
Alex Pereira drummed up a lot of attention, with the tweet above catching the attention of Ankalaev himself. Magomed Ankalaev is riding an impressive unbeaten streak in his last thirteen fights since 2018.
While he fought Jan Blachowicz for the then-vacant light heavyweight belt at UFC 282, Ankalaev isn't leading for a sophomore title shot following that split draw. Many who look at MMA on a meritocracy level feel the time is now for Ankalaev to get another crack at the 205-pound crown.
But with some options being loosely out there for Alex Pereira, including a possible super fight versus UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones, the dangerous Russian fighter may not be the most enticing option for him on a box office level.
The 37-year-old received a response from Ankalaev a few hours after posting the referenced tweet. Magomed Ankalaev called the light heavyweight titleholder a chicken with three corresponding chicken emojis thereafter.
'Poatan' is not officially locked into any fight at this juncture, nor is the Russian. That being said, it is not guaranteed that Magomed Ankalaev will get that next title shot at Alex Pereira.
The looming clash between former divisional kingpins Jiri Prochazka and Jamahal Hill at UFC 311 in the coming weeks could establish that next contender for the native of Sao Paulo state who looms large over the division.