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A couple of months ago, veteran UFC color commentator Joe Rogan said that Magomed Ankalaev's trash-talking game is causing Alex Pereira not to give a title shot to the Russian fighter.
Speaking on #2249 of Joe Rogan Experience, the podcast host pointed out that Alex Pereira has contenders lined up at light heavyweight when one of the guests, Yannis Pappas, suggested Jon Jones vs. Pereira is the fight to make.
"He's supposed to be fighting Ankalaev. Ankalaev is fu**ing very dangerous, and I think he's the number one contender. He's been on a winning streak for a long a*s time. He's only got one draw, and that was to Jan Blachowicz, who was the former champion," Rogan said.
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Despite Ankalaev's credentials, Rogan didn't think Alex Pereira was interested in a title fight against the 32-year-old.
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"So he's like at the top of the heap and has been waiting for a title shot for a long time. But he's been talking a lot of sh*t, and Alex doesn't like that he talks sh*t. Yeah, so he's like, 'F**k him. Make him wait.' And so, I think Alex just said that he's going to fight in March and that he's not going to fight Ankalaev," Rogan added.
The 57-year-old also mentioned Ankalaev won't fight in March as he would have to observe Ramadan. Surprisingly, the former light heavyweight title challenger agreed to fight in March.
Check out Joe Rogan's comments below (2:32:20):
When Joe Rogan explained Belal Muhammad's regimen during Ramadan
Speaking about Magomed Ankalaev possibly not fighting during Ramadan, Joe Rogan pointed out that UFC welterweight champion Belal Muhammad used a peculiar regimen during the holy month.
Before he became the champion, Muhammad had fought Gilbert Burns at UFC 288 on short notice during Ramadan. 'Remember the Name' won the fight via unanimous decision.
"He observes Ramadan, and he was training and fighting. He'd have to take a fight during Ramadan, so what he would do is get up at like 4:30 in the morning before it was light out and have a big meal. Then he would go to the gym, and he would have no water at the gym, nothing," Joe Rogan said. [2:33:32 of the aforementioned podcast]
The 57-year-old pointed out Muhammad didn't sleep during the day. It's a hack used by many observing Ramadan, but the welterweight believes he will miss out on religious suffering if he does it.
"So he would do it the way you're supposed to do it, where he worked out with no water, trained, and then he would finally get to the nighttime session, be able to eat, and then have a nighttime training session a little later than normal. And that’s how he would do his day," Rogan added.
The UFC commentator also pointed out that Dagestani fighters strictly observe fasting during Ramadan. His podcast guest, Yannis Pappas, agreed, citing that Muhammad's skill improved after training with them.
