"No Chama, Ankalaev Time" - Fans react as Magomed Ankalaev receives Dagestan's Medal of Honor, an award also held by Islam Makhachev

UFC light heavyweight champion Magomed Ankalaev recently received Dagestan's Medal of Honor, from Sergey Melikov, the Head of the Republic. Islam Makhachev had won the prestigious honor shortly after his hard-fought victory over Dustin Poirier at UFC 302.

Ankalaev's honor came in light of his unanimous decision victory over Alex Pereira to claim the light heavyweight strap at UFC 313. The 31-year-old shared the news on his social media.

Interestingly, Ankalaev and his team didn't know he would be receiving the award when they got the invitation. The light heavyweight champion informed fans that the conversation between the government officials has motivated him to work even harder.

Check out Magomed Ankalaev's social media post below:

Fight fans flocked to the post's comments sections to share their thoughts about the matter.

A fan seemingly trolled Alex Pereira, writing:

"No Chama, Ankalaev Time"

Another fan appreciated Ankalaev's good looks, posting:

"Our Big Brother Ankalaev is so humble and decent indeed. Your dressing is so nice there Maa Shaa Allah and you're looking too good in white."

An Alex Pereira fan applauded Ankalaev, but warned him of a potential rematch with 'Poatan,' commenting:

"Congratulations Ankalaev! You are a war tank. The rematch will be harder, because it is impossible for Pereira to fight so badly again. Congratulations from [Brazil]."

Check out more comments below:

Screenshot of comments [Image Source - @ankalaev_magomed on Instagram]

---

Tom Aspinall reacts to Magomed Ankalaev's victory over Alex Pereira

UFC interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall seemingly benefited from Magomed Ankalaev's victory over Alex Pereira. Heavyweight champion Jon Jones was open about his interest to fight Pereira over Aspinall, which now won't likely be possible.

After Ankalaev's victory at UFC 313, Aspinall explained how the Russian defeated Pereira on his YouTube channel. He said:

"I think that, first of all, great fight. Anyone who says it wasn't doesn't know MMA. So I thought it was an amazing fight. The key to winning, in my opinion, he wanted it more. Pressure. He looked the fresher man, mixing between the takedowns and the striking beautifully."

Preluding the fight, Aspinall was not confident Ankalaev would follow the ideal gameplan as he claimed he would defeat Pereira in a standup battle. As such, the Brit feared 'Poatan' might knock out the Russian fighter. As for what's next for both fighters, the heavyweight said:

"Alex Pereira's run is done as a champion for now, in my opinion. Immediate rematch should be there next. Like, Alex Pere is a massive, massive, massive star in the sport of MMA. Massive. Lost it last night, lost his title, but the run that he has been on has warranted an immediate rematch, in my opinion."

Check out Tom Aspinall's comments about Magomed Ankalaev below (12:32):