Magomed Ankalaev channels inner Mike Tyson as he calls out Alex Pereira for lying 

Magomed Ankalaev responded to Alex Pereira's claim that he asked for a fight against the Dagestani fighter. Pereira is set to attempt his fourth light heavyweight title defense against Ankalaev at UFC 313 on March 8. In a recent interview with Ariel Helwani, Pereira said that he asked to fight Ankalaev and proposed the March date for the showdown.

In response to Pereira's statement, Ankalaev recently took to X and gave a furious reply, writing:

"@AlexPereiraUFC don’t lie, you didn’t ask for me. It was a dead-end street. I’m gonna to eat your heart."

While speaking to Helwani, Pereira also stated that UFC boss Dana White can confirm that it was indeed 'Poatan' who demanded to fight Ankalaev.

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When Magomed Ankalaev's manager confirmed that Alex Pereira was not avoiding the Dagestani fighter

Magomed Ankalaev currently holds the longest active unbeaten streak in the light heavyweight division, with 11 victories, one draw, and one no-contest. He has been demanding a title shot for some time, and the UFC recently announced him as the next challenger to Alex Pereira's title reign.

Ankalaev has frequently criticized Pereira for allegedly avoiding a fight with him. However, during an appearance on Submission Radio in October 2024, his manager, Ali Abdelaziz, clarified that Pereira was not responsible for the delay in Pereira's title shot:

"I can't say nothing bad about Alex Pereira. I think he's a great fighter. I think he brings a lot of excitement. I think he's always willing to fight."

Abdelaziz then shared details of the verbal agreement between the UFC, Pereira and Ankalaev:

"UFC is the business. They said, 'Hey, we get it. Let Pereira fight Khalil, let Ankalaev fight Rakic. If he goes out there and wins, they can both fight.' And we're at this point. Alex did his job, Ankalaev has to go out there and knock Rakic out or smash him... and he'll get his shot."

Check out Ali Abdelaziz's comments below (0:38):

Pereira and Ankalaev each defeated Khalil Rountree Jr. and Aleksandar Rakic, fulfilling the condition explained by Abdelaziz. Following this, their title fight was announced on Jan. 18.