Magomed Ankalaev issues savage retort at Alex Pereira for questioning UFC 313 title fight outcome: "For 20 minutes, this guy was running away from me"
Magomed Ankalaev has hit back with a savage retort to Alex Pereira after the latter's comments about their UFC 313 title showdown. Ankalaev lambasted 'Poatan' and alleged that the Brazilian steered clear of him for the better part of their fight.
The UFC 313 (March 8, 2025) event was headlined by a grudge match between the two rivals. Ankalaev ended up dethroning Pereira via unanimous decision and became the new UFC light heavyweight champion. Nevertheless, a number of fans criticized the official scorecards and emphasized that Pereira was more deserving of the points victory.
Meanwhile, during his post-fight octagon interview, Pereira insinuated that Ankalaev was engaging in excessive stalling against the fence and wasn't active enough to warrant a win on points.
The kickboxing veteran and MMA icon recounted that he felt a few good strikes from his foe in the second round but was largely held against the fence with no meaningful offense from the Russian. Pereira implied that rewarding a fighter for such a game plan would incentivize others to compete similarly, resulting in low-action fights. Speaking via his translator, 'Poatan' said:
"Giving him the win with a game plan like that, it incentivizes people to do that."
Well, during his UFC 313 post-fight press conference segment, Ankalaev fired back at the Brazilian combatant's remarks regarding their fight. The newly-crowned UFC light heavyweight champion, spoke via a translator and stated:
"I was confident. I kept on moving forward. I kept pressuring him. And he kept running away from me, you know. For 20 minutes, this guy was running away from me. And then I heard at the end of the fight, he was saying that, you know, he wasn't sure why the victory wasn't given to me. Who's supposed to be given the victory? You know, I've been pressuring the entire time."
Accusing Pereira of running from him, Ankalaev added:
"He was running for 20 minutes. And then he's wondering who's supposed to get the victory. Listen, I'm happy for a rematch if he wants a rematch. But then maybe in the rematch, he could fight for real, not just run away the entire time."
Check out Magomed Ankalaev's assessment below:
Watch Magomed Ankalaev's post-fight press conference below (*comments at 2:09):
UFC light heavyweight champion Magomed Ankalaev jibed at Alex Pereira's striking skills
Alex Pereira has long been viewed as one of the greatest strikers to ever compete in MMA. He'd lately been deemed the UFC light heavyweight division's best striker.
However, after Pereira lost his UFC light heavyweight belt to Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 313, his detractors -- including Ankalaev -- have questioned his standing as the best striker at 205 pounds.
During his post-fight press conference segment, Ankalaev implied that he aimed to wrestle more but was happy to out-strike 'Poatan':
"The narrative was that he's the best. You saw what kind of a best striker he was in the fight. You saw how well he did against his striking and how our striking was working." [*comments at Ankalaev's press conference segment's 6:37-minute mark]
Given the closely contested matchup and polarizing scorecards, the post-fight presser witnessed UFC boss Dana White hint at an immediate title rematch between Magomed Ankalaev and Alex Pereira.