Henry Cejudo and Kamaru Usman issue honest prediction for potential Alex Pereira vs. Magomed Ankalaev clash: "He doesn't use it"

Reigning UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira has long been at odds with divisional elite Magomed Ankalaev and could fight him this year. Ex-UFC champions Henry Cejudo and Kamaru Usman have given their predictions for the much-discussed potential showdown.

For several months in 2024, Cejudo and Usman joined various other MMA experts in speculating about how kickboxing savant Pereira might face trouble against Ankalaev's wrestling. Cejudo -- a former UFC flyweight and bantamweight champion and an Olympic gold medalist freestyle wrestler -- often picked Dagestan's Ankalaev to dethrone Pereira courtesy of his grappling.

On their Pound 4 Pound podcast, hosts Henry Cejudo and Kamaru Usman recently addressed Alex Pereira's possible fight against Magomed Ankalaev. Cejudo picked 'Poatan' to defeat Ankalaev:

"I don't see a threat in Ankalaev against Alex Pereira. So I'm gonna have to go Alex Pereira, dude. I think he can remain champ."

Ex-UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman alluded that Cejudo previously emphasized and maintained that Ankalaev's wrestling could help him dethrone Pereira. Usman jestingly opined that 'Triple C' was changing his tune.

Cejudo responded by suggesting that his prediction for that fight had changed, as he assessed that Ankalaev usually doesn't adequately utilize his wrestling. He harked back to 2021 -- when then-UFC light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz out-wrestled and outpointed kickboxing savant Israel Adesanya in their light heavyweight title fight.

Moreover, Cejudo explained that Blachowicz attempted to similarly out-wrestle and outpoint Pereira in 2023 but seemingly ran out of steam. Cejudo also recounted that Ankalaev has stated he'd strike with Pereira, which he believes is counterintuitive. Picking Pereira to win, Cejudo said:

"Why, Kamaru? Because he [Ankalaev] doesn't use it [wrestling]. He doesn't do it in fights. And he's talking about he wants to do it on his feet. There's nobody at 205 that has any type of grappling, besides Jan Blachowicz, that actually uses it when they fight. Everybody just does that. Jan, he did the perfect matchup against Israel Adesanya, and he didn't really do that with Alex Pereira. It seems like he got tired a little bit. I just don't see the belt changing there. But that's just my two cents."

Usman concurred and stated:

"I agree with you. I think that belt stays with Alex Pereira; even though I can't wait to see the Ankalaev fight if that fight happens this year."

Watch their assessment below:

Watch the podcast episode below:

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Alex Pereira vs. Magomed Ankalaev: Key developments in the long-awaited grudge match

The UFC hasn't officially announced the Alex Pereira vs. Magomed Ankalaev matchup. Pereira, who's an ex-UFC middleweight champion, often signaled that he'd like to dethrone UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones and become a three-division champion. Jones too has long been lobbying for a super-fight against Pereira, which many believe could be contested at heavyweight.

In December 2024, Pereira tweeted a 'loudly crying face emoji,' appearing to jestingly imply he won't fight Ankalaev next. He wrote:

"It won't be Ankalaev!"

Speculation abounded that Pereira's long-awaited grudge match against Ankalaev may have to wait. Nevertheless, earlier this week, veteran journalist Ariel Helwani reported that, per sources, Ankalaev would be Pereira's next opponent.

Furthermore, Helwani indicated that, according to 'Poatan's' team, his heavyweight move isn't going to be anytime soon because he'd need a six-month period to prepare for it.