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Former UFC flyweight champion Brandon Moreno's coach, Sayif Saud, recently shared his thoughts on Magomed Ankalaev defeating Alex Pereira at UFC 313 earlier this month. The veteran MMA coach lauded Ankalaev for winning and compared the new 205-pound king to Islam Makhachev.
Ankalaev defeated Pereira via a controversial unanimous decision after five rounds of action. While the judges saw Ankalaev outpointing Pereira, many who watched the fight opined that the Brazilian deserved to get his hand raised.
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In an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda MMA, Saud made it clear that he had Ankalaev winning the fight and lauded the Dagestani fighter for holding his own against Pereira in striking exchanges. Comparing the new light heavyweight champion to Makhachev, Saud said:
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"Yeah, I mean, you know, he won the fight. You can say whatever you want, but he won the fight. Like I said, it's kind of similar to Islam, right? He's balanced. He has good enough striking to push the pace and in those exchanges, he put him on his back foot... It was an impressive win, and he's the champ."
Catch Sayif Saud's comments below (13:55):
Jan Blachowicz pushes for Magomed Ankalaev rematch ahead of UFC London fight
Jan Blachowicz recently opened up about a potential rematch against Magomed Ankalaev and hoped he got an opportunity to settle some "unfinished business" after his UFC London outing. Blachowicz is set to face Carlos Ulberg in a light heavyweight bout this weekend in the O2 Arena in London.
In their first encounter, Blachowicz and Ankalaev went at each other for five hard rounds at UFC 282 in December 2022. Despite their efforts, there was no clear winner, and the judges declared the bout a split draw.
In a recent interview with the UFC, the Polish fighter outlined his fight plans and pushed for a rematch against the new light heavyweight champion. He said:
''It’s normal [that the light heavyweight title] changes owners every couple of years. For me, it’s good because I have unfinished business with Ankalaev. Of course, I have a job to do this Saturday, and I’m focused on that. But I believe I’m going to be a winner this Saturday, so maybe after that, we’ll have to finish what we started with Ankalaev.”
