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Khalil Rountree Jr. clashing with reigning champion Alex Pereira has many wondering about why Magomed Ankalaev did not get the title shot at UFC 307. This also includes a former light heavyweight competitor within the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Scott Askham collides with Makhmud Muradov at Oktagon 61 on Sept. 21 with the two former UFC veterans clashing in the co-main event. When speaking on Bowks Talking Bouts regarding his thoughts on the reasoning behind Alex Pereira vs. Khalil Rountree Jr. being boked, Askham quipped:
"Alex Pereira can do what he wants now can't he? What he's done in the sport in such little time it's absolutely amazing, unbelievable. Whether Rountree deserves it or not, I'm not the person to debate these things. Like that's the UFC's decision. Again, a lot of these decisions are business decisions. Sometimes you've got to sell yourself a bit better."
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"Maybe Ankalaev don't do that. Like I don't know. It's not always the best guy who gets the title shot. It's the best one at selling themselves."
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Check out Scott Askham discussing the Alexx Pereira, Khalil Rountree, and Ankalaev trifecta (13:33) below:
Khalil Rountree Jr. and Magomed Ankalaev UFC title shot cases
Khalil Rountree Jr. and Magomed Ankalaev are both ranked contenders at 205 pounds but the resumes of the two athletes seem to stack up differently. Rountree and Ankalaev are positioned as the number eight and number two contenders in the division, respectively. Even going off of this, one would give the shot to Ankalaev on a meritocracy level by adhering to their instantiated rankings.
Rountree Jr. is riding a five-fight winning streak heading into his crack at the title presently held by the Brazilian knockout artist. 'The War Horse' has bested Modestas Bukauskas, Karl Roberson, Dustin Jacoby, Chris Daukaus, and Anthony Smith through this recent stretch.
Ankalaev has not tasted defeat across his last 12 contests with only a draw and a no-contest transpiring during a streak that has otherwise been comprised of emphatic wins. The draw and no contest came in consecutive outings against Jan Blachowicz for the then-vacant light heavyweight title and against Johnny Walker who he went on to defeat since.
Ankalaev has significant wins over the aforementioned Smith as well as several other former UFC light heavyweight title challengers. These victories for the Dagestan native include wins over Thiago Santos and Volkan Oezdemir.
The title picture also gets especially confusing considering Ankalaev is fighting soon. He competes towards the tail end of the same month Pereira vs. Rountree goes down. Ankalaev clashes with Aleksandar Rakic at UFC 308 on Oct. 26.
