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Diana Belbita recently discussed Magomed Ankalaev's win over Alex Pereira at UFC 313 earlier this month. She broke down why 'Poatan' couldn't give his "100%" in the fight and shared an intriguing prediction for a potential rematch.
Ankalaev and Pereira fought a closely contested light heavyweight title fight at UFC 313 in Las Vegas. After five rounds of action, Ankalaev controversially got his hand raised via unanimous decision. While the judges saw him outpoint Pereira, many who watched the fight believed the Brazilian had done enough to win.
Ahead of her upcoming flyweight fight against Dione Barbosa at UFC Vegas 105, Belbita spoke to Sportskeeda MMA in an exclusive interview about the Ankalaev-Pereira fight and said:
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"It's pretty simple what happened in that fight. We couldn't see a 100% Alex Pereira because he was always worried about the takedown. So, he couldn't let his hands go. He couldn't sit on his punches the same. At the same time, I'm gonna be honest: Ankalaev surprised me because, in the first three rounds, he was striking with Pereira."
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She continued:
"If they were [to] rematch, I feel like it will be a little bit different because Pereira will be believing in himself a little bit more, on his wrestling. So he's not going to be so scared of going to the ground."
Catch Diana Belbita's comments below (15:22):
Artem Vakhitov issues bold prediction for potential Alex Pereira fight under MMA rules
Artem Vakhitov is looking for a rematch against Alex Pereira under MMA rules. Vakhitov and Pereira are notably 1-1 in kickboxing and the former was highly touted to join the UFC as a contender. However, it appears that won't be happening anytime soon.
During a recent interview with Ariel Helwani, Vakhitov was asked about a potential rematch with Pereira in the cage. Sharing a bold preview, the veteran kickboxer outlined the Brazilian's main strengths and said:
"I think it would be in the striking style. And as he has no defense, he has only the one punch, I could find the keys and win [against] him easily. Because I've seen how to do it. And I'm very confident with my team that we could get this win by our strategy."
