Magomed
Ankalaev did not get the version of Alex
Pereira that he expected.
The Dagestani standout outstruck his opponent on the feet and mixed
in occasional control against the fence to capture a close
unanimous decision triumph in the UFC 313
headliner at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday night.
While Pereira is typically known for his offensive prowess,
Ankalaev proved to be too difficult a puzzle to solve for the
Brazilian star.
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“He was considered to be the best striker in the division on the
way to this fight,” Ankalaev said through a translator at
Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “That’s what everybody was
talking about, the narrative was that he’s the best. You saw what
kind of best striker he was in the fight. You saw how well we did
against the striking and how our striking was working.
“We didn’t have to rely on the wrestling because we were confident
in our striking. We were trying to get him to go forward the entire
time, that’s what we were baiting, that’s what we were trying to
push, and he never walked forward.”
Ankalaev kept moving forward for the majority of the bout and
landed the most memorable blow of the bout when he staggered
Pereira with a left hook in the second round. While the Dagestani
failed on all 12 of his takedown attempts, the threat of wrestling
was enough to keep Pereira off balance. While some observers
thought the verdict could have gone the Brazilian’s way, Ankalaev
didn’t believe there should have been any doubt regarding the
outcome.
“I was confident. I kept on moving forward,” Ankalaev said. “I kept
on pressuring him, and he kept on running away from me. For 20
minutes, this guy was running away from me. Then I heard at the end
of the fight that he was saying he wasn’t sure why the victory was
given to me. Who are they supposed to give the victory to? I was
pressuring the entire time, and he was running for 20 minutes, and
he’s wondering who’s supposed to get the victory?
“Listen, I’m happy for a rematch if he wants a rematch, but maybe
the rematch he can fight for real, not just run away the entire
time.”
During his portion of the post-fight presser, UFC CEO Dana White
said that an immediate rematch between Ankalaev and Pereira was
“probably” the next move in the division. Though the fight was not
what he expected, White admitted that Ankalaev deserved to get the
nod on the scorecards.
“I wouldn’t take anything from Ankalaev, and the pressure he put on
Alex tonight,” White said. “Kept pushing forward, even in the fifth
round I was listening on the headphones and Alex’s corner was
saying ‘You’ve got to go after him this round. You have to let
everything go. You’ve got to let your hands go. You’ve got to try
to take him out.’”
Ankalaev reiterated that he wouldn’t shy away from a return date
with Pereira if that’s what the promotion desires.
“Yes, I never pick my opponents, so I’m very much happy and ready
for a rematch,” Ankalaev said. “Whenever UFC offers it to us, we’ll
see what the date is, we’ll be happy to accept it.”