"Not Dana White's favorite person" - Ali Abdelaziz says Merab Dvalishvili's UFC fate keeps him hopeful about Magomed Ankalaev's title shot
Ali Abdelaziz recently expressed his thoughts on Magomed Ankalaev's chances of fighting for the UFC middleweight title. Abdelaziz used the example of the reigning bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili to explain that Ankalaev may have to wait, but he will eventually receive an opportunity at the title.
Since Alex Pereira successfully defended his 205-pound title against Jamahal Hill at UFC 300 in April, Ankalaev has made no secret of his ambition to challenge for the title. With Pereira and Ankalaev taking jabs at each other on social media, many anticipated that the Russian fighter would face Pereira next.
However, the promotion announced that Pereira will defend his title at UFC 307 against Khalil Rountree Jr. instead, who is six spots behind Ankalaev in the middleweight rankings. The UFC also announced that Ankalaev will face Aleksandar Rakic at UFC 308 in Abu Dhabi.
In a recent interview with ESPN MMA, Abdelaziz discussed Rountree Jr. getting the title shot instead of Ankalaev, saying:
''Certain fighters will have the long road for the title, like khabib [Nurmagomedov], like Kamaru Usman, like Islam Makhachev but when they get there, they become dominant...They [UFC] wanted Magomed Ankalaev to fight in Abu Dhabi, in his market, he's fighting...In reality, I believe he's [Ankalaev] is the best light heavyweight in the planet.''
The possible date for the Pereira vs. Ankalaev bout was then provided by Abdelaziz, who stated:
''Magomed Ankalaev will handle business, Alex Pereira will handle business and these two guys will fight in 2025. If Merab [Dvalishvili] got a title shot, anybody can get a title shot. Let's be real, Merab is not Dana White's favorite person.''
Check out Ali Abdelaziz's comments below (19:43):
Ankalaev has not experienced a loss in his previous 12 fights, except a draw and a no-contest during his run of dominant victories. In his last octagon outing at UFC Vegas 84, the 32-year-old secured a second-round knockout win against Johnny Walker.
When Ali Abdelaziz called out Alex Pereira over Magomed Ankalaev remarks
Following UFC CEO Dana White's announcement of Alex Pereira defending his title against Khalil Rountree Jr. at UFC 307 instead of Magomed Ankalaev, 'Poatan' posted a video on his YouTube channel, claiming that he offered himself against Ankalaev but the Russian fighter declined to face him.
However, Ali Abdelaziz took to X and dismissed Pereira's claims, writing:
"I can tell you this this is not true at all. I respect the man, but this is not what happened."