"If he takes this thing personally, that's up to him" - Alex Pereira's next opponent addresses his social media jibes at 'Poatan'

The buildup to the Alex Pereira vs. Magomed Ankalaev headliner at UFC 313 has been defined by the latter's trash talk. However, according to Ankalaev, his insults and provocations are not personal, and if Pereira takes them as such, it's not his responsibility.

During an interview shared by The MacLife+, Ankalaev addressed his uncharacteristic uptick in trash talk aimed at Pereira. According to him, much of what he has been saying was his way to secure a fight with the reigning light heavyweight champion:

"You know, I don't care the way this affects him. I don't care if he takes it close to heart or not. What I know is we're looking at this fight as if it's the last fight ever. We're gonna do whatever we can to make sure we get this opportunity."

Despite claiming to have no personal stake in his growing rivalry with Pereira, Ankalaev implied that his decision to take jibes at Pereira stemmed from the Brazilian allegedly turning him down as an opponent in the past.

"We were supposed to get this opportunity a long time ago, and he was the one withholding this chance from us for a long time. So, we're gonna prepare to do whatever we can to win, and if he takes this thing personally, that's up to him. That's not what we're worried about."

Check out Magomed Ankalaev's thoughts on his anti-Alex Pereira trash talk (4:32):

Pereira is no stranger to opponents who engage in trash talk. His most memorable combat sports feud was with Israel Adesanya, well-known for needling at his opponents with trash talk. Similarly, the likes of Sean Strickland and Jamahal Hill are also known for lambasting their opponents.

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Magomed Ankalaev has continued talking trash to Alex Pereira in the build-up to UFC 313

The animosity between Alex Pereira and Magomed Ankalaev has caught the MMA world off-guard, but Ankalaev has taken every opportunity to engage in verbal warfare with Pereira. X/Twitter has become Ankalaev's verbal battleground, where he has penned various tweets to taunt Pereira.

One of them read:

"Brazil, sorry what I'm gonna do to your boy"

A clip recently emerged of 'Poatan' polishing his wrestling with Glover Teixeira, prompting his Dagestani rival to warn him that he had better be ready to fend off his takedowns for 25 minutes.