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Ali Abdelaziz recently expressed his disagreement with Alex Pereira's claims on why the Brazilian will be fighting Khalil Rountree Jr. and not Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 307. After Dana White announced that 'Poatan' would be facing the No.8-ranked light heavyweight in Khalil Rountree Jr., the reigning champion issued a statement to reveal what went on behind the scenes.
Pereira said:
"A lot of people ask me, I always wanted to fight against [Magomed] Ankalaev. I threw that to the organization, left it very clear, but Ankalaev didn't want to fight against me...If it was the location, if he just didn't want to. He isn't the champion, he can't pick anything. I think it's the opportunity that shows up, he didn't want it...I'm not scared of anyone...He made things difficult, but I'll come across him soon
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Abdelaziz replied:
"I can tell you this this is not true at all. I respect the man, but this is not what happened."
Ali Abdelaziz believes Magomed Ankalaev is the best fighter in the division
Ali Abdelaziz has made a name for himself in the MMA community as one of the best managers in the sport, and is known to back his fighters through thick and thin.
The Ankalaev-Pereira matchup has recently sparked interest among MMA fans, with many seeing it as an old-school grappler vs. striker contest. Furthermore, the Dagestani is on a 10-fight win streak and hasn't lost a bout in over six years.
Pereira, for his part, has been running through his opposition, so much so that many have expressed a desire to see 'Poatan' move up to heavyweight and challenge for the title.
After the Brazilian knocked Jiri Prochazka out in June 2024, Abdelaziz took to X to claim Ankalaev is the best light heavyweight in the world and would give the champion all sorts of problems in the octagon. He wrote:
"Magomed Ankalaev is the best light heavyweight on the planet him and Alex Perreira is a high level fight, big respect to the champ"
Magomed Ankalaev will take on Aleksandar Rakic at UFC 308. Meanwhile, Alex Pereira will square off against Khalil Rountree Jr. for his third title defense at UFC 307.
