When Alex Pereira's coach predicted Magomed Ankalaev's success at light heavyweight: "You're gonna take over"

Before Alex Pereira was even a thought in the minds of UFC fans, his coach and friend Glover Teixeira was praising Magomed Ankalaev as the future of the light heavyweight division. The interaction took place back in 2021, during which Teixeira crossed paths with Ankalaev at a restaurant.

It wasn't just any encounter either. At the time, Teixeira had just captured the light heavyweight title himself, submitting Jan Błachowicz at UFC 267. What many may not remember is that Ankalaev fought on that very same card, defeating 205-pound mainstay Volkan Oezdemir via unanimous decision.

After their fights, both Teixeira and Ankalaev had a friendly encounter.

"You'll take over next year!"

Check out Glover Teixeira praising Magomed Ankalaev:

While no one could have known at that moment, Teixeira was actually predicting the demise of his future star pupil. After a trio of impressive wins over Andreas Michailidis, Bruno Silva, and Sean Strickland, Pereira earned a crack at Israel Adesanya's middleweight title.

Many describe it as being fast-tracked to the top of the sport, but Pereira delivered, TKO'ing Adesanya to capture middleweight gold. Unfortunately, he failed to defend the belt, losing it in an immediate rematch before moving up to light heavyweight, where he defeated everyone who stood before him.

That is, until he locked horns with Ankalaev at UFC 313. In a matchup defined by animosity and trash talk, Pereira cut a listless figure, his offense neutered in the face of Ankalaev's pressure and surgical striking. In the end, Ankalaev dethroned him as light heavyweight champion via unanimous decision.

It didn't happen in 2021 or 2022 like Teixeira may have envisioned, but Ankalaev did eventually take over. Unfortunately, it came at the cost of Pereira's title reign.

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Alex Pereira and Magomed Ankalaev are gearing up for a rematch

The UFC 313 main event was competitive, more-so than most had expected. Alex Pereira's defensive wrestling was bulletproof, enabling him to stuff all 12 of Magomed Ankalaev's takedowns. Meanwhile, the Dagestani wrestler exhibited stunning skill in the striking department.

After the fight, Ankalaev praised 'Poatan' on X and hinted at a potential rematch. He wrote:

"@AlexPereiraUFC it was an honor sharing the cage with you, you are a great Champion and your team, your coaches have a lot of class. Let's run it back anytime you want."

'Poatan' is now aiming for a rematch, which all parties involved, including UFC CEO Dana White, are on board with.