Alex Pereira breaks silence on teasing fans with 'It won't be Magomed Ankalaev' tweet, reacts to fight booking: "He's been talking a little bit"

Alex Pereira is set to defend his UFC light heavyweight title against Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 313 despite initially claiming the Dagestani phenom wouldn't be his next foe. In a recent interview, Pereira addressed his previous dismissal of Ankalaev as a title challenger.

It is no secret that Pereira was and is no fan of Ankalaev's trash talk, as his rival has repeatedly taken to X/Twitter to either belittle his skill-set or brand him a coward. It is for this exact reason that Pereira said it wouldn't be Ankalaev, not that he wouldn't be his next title challenger, but that he wouldn't be the one to beat him.

So, when MMA Junkie's Dan Segura asked him about it, 'Poatan' said the following:

"No, everybody interpreted it differently, but I saw a few tweets talking about how Ankalaev would do this and do that [to me]. So, I thought, 'Well, if Khalil [Rountree Jr.] couldn't do it [beat me], a guy who is well-rounded and feels strongly about his job [as a fighter], you think Ankalaev will be the one to do it?' So, I said it wouldn't be Ankalaev. He's been talking a little bit."

Check out Alex Pereira clarifying prior comments about Magomed Ankalaev (3:42):

So, as it turns out, Pereira's apparent dismissal of Ankalaev wasn't a dismissal at all, at least not in the manner that everyone had thought. Instead, he was claiming that it wouldn't be Ankalaev who would beat him, because even a fighter of the caliber of Khalil Rountree Jr. couldn't.

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Magomed Ankalaev has only ramped up his Alex Pereira trash talk

After Dana White confirmed Magomed Ankalaev as Alex Pereira's next title challenger, the Dagestani contender took to X/Twitter with more warnings aimed at the Brazilian power puncher. Three days ago, he sarcastically apologized to Brazil for what he believes he will do to Pereira come fight night.

"Brazil sorry what I'm gonna do to your boy"

The rampant trash talk is a departure from the reserved, quiet image Ankalaev had cultivated for most of his career. For Pereira, trash talk is nothing new to him, as several of his foes have opted to speak ill of him ahead of their fights, including the likes of Jamahal Hill and Israel Adesanya.