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Alex Pereira is set to face Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 313. Ahead of the fight, Ankalaev's Ramadan fasting has been brought up, which Pereira believes is just a built-in excuse in case his rival loses to him this weekend. He detailed his thoughts in an exclusive interview with Ag. Fight.
Pereira believes that Ankalaev isn't fasting, highlighting a situation in which he came across several lunchboxes owned by his opponent. He further accused Ankalaev of lying to the fans about participating in Ramadan, saying:
"I think he's using it [Ramadan] as an excuse. But today, I went to get my lunchboxes, the lunchboxes from the UFC, and there were two bags with several lunchboxes with his name on them and all of them with the time labeled. He isn't doing it [fasting]. He's deceiving the people and talking just to have an excuse later."
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Check out Alex Pereira's thoughts on Magomed Ankalaev's fasting (9:52):
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The buildup to the UFC 313 fight has been defined by relentless trash talk, especially from Ankalaev, who previously accused Pereira of avoiding him. Meanwhile, Pereira warned Ankalaev that he may subject him to a humiliating celebration if he wins the fight, just as he did with Jamahal Hill at UFC 300.
Pereira's reasoning for doing so is to serve as a consequence for the disrespect he feels Ankalaev is subjecting him to before their fight.
Alex Pereira had converted to Islam in the past
As part of his recovery from his battle with alcoholism, Alex Pereira converted to Islam. However, he no longer appears to follow the religion.
Instead, he has leaned into his tribal roots as a member of the Pataxó tribe, which is indigenous to Brazil. This has drawn the interest of some of his foes.
Former light heavyweight champion Jiří Prorcházka accused 'Poatan' of using black magic ahead of their rematch at UFC 303. Regardless of the bizarre allegations, Pereira TKO'd Prorcházka with supreme ease after two rounds.
