Ex-UFC star predicts Alex Pereira’s signature strike could spell Magomed Ankalaev’s doom at UFC 313: "He couldn't walk anymore"

A former UFC fighter recently mentioned how a weapon in Alex Pereira's arsenal can destroy his upcoming rival, Magomed Ankalaev. The former lightweight contender also took a look at one of Ankalaev's previous encounters to opine on how Pereira could hurt him.

Ankalaev took an array of jibes at Pereira on social media to get his callout accepted. Initially, the Brazilian didn't showcase much interest in this matchup. However, the UFC 311 came with a surprising moment for the fans as Joe Rogan announced that the Pereira vs. Ankalaev encounter would serve as the headliner for UFC 313.

In a previous X update, Ankalaev mentioned that his prowess in the stand-and-strike department of the game would be enough to get the better of the current light heavyweight champ.

The former UFC lightweight Josh Thomson gave out his take on Ankalaev's revelation during the latest episode of the WEIGHING IN podcast. Thomson opined that Ankalaev's strategy to stand-and-strike with Pereira might compromise his mobility due to the Brazilian's signature calf kicks. He also highlighted how Jan Blachowicz had put the Dagestani in a similar situation during their UFC 282 encounter:

"Ankalaev can’t afford to spend too [much time standing before Pereira]. I think he will stand, but he needs to be all the way in, closing that distance, making it a clinch fight. Or he’s gonna be all the way out. Now when you’re all the way out, we saw what happened in the Yan Blachowicz fight where he got kicked to the shins and all of a sudden he couldn’t walk. He was winning the fight till the end of the second round, and then he couldn’t walk anymore."

Check out Josh Thomson's comments below (57:59):

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Alex Pereira contradicted his own revelation about his next rival

The announcement of the Alex Pereira vs. Magomed Ankalaev encounter came as a surprise for several fans since the current champion didn't showcase much interest in the encounter initially.

One of Pereira's previous X updates also detailed that his next rival would be anyone but Ankalaev:

"It won’t be Ankalaev ! 😭"

However, Rogan's announcement about the Pereira vs. Ankalaev encounter during the UFC 311 broadcast showcased that the UFC brass had different plans.