Imagine you’re the champion of your division, and the top two contenders refused to fight you and took away your chance to compete at the International Fight Week. That’s the kind of disappointment that Magomed Ankalaev must have felt when he tweeted, “All the. guys turned me down and international fight week.” Needless to say, following the events of UFC 313, the entire world wanted to watch Alex Pereira come out of his unanimous decision defeat in a rematch. But it seemed like the man with the hands of stone wasn’t ready.
You see, the light heavyweight champion was ready to fight anyone. In another tweet, he wrote, “I was offered to fight Alex (Pereira) [during] International fight week. If the man doesn’t want it, let’s move on. I’m ready for everyone. I dare you.” And for the fans who believed that Ankalaev was probably lying about Pereira’s refusal, Ariel Helwani stepped forward to substantiate his tweet. The famed MMA reporter and podcaster confirmed that ‘Poatan’ was actually offered a fight. But with the former lightweight champion’s refusal, things became a bit more heated between the rivals.
The Russian champion lashed out at the Brazilian light heavyweight through yet another post on X. Ankalaev, with his rage brewing up, wrote, “I hope CHAMA will show up in Abu Dhabi, don’t be scared homie.” Of course, Abu Dhabi is a bit too far away. But the question that ate up almost every other fight fan’s mind was the reason behind Jiri Prochazka and Pereira’s rejection for the fight against the light heavyweight champion. Well, Prochazka is a bit busy with his college and examinations. And almost everything has been left out of his schedule to let him focus on his studies. But what about Pereira? He isn’t engaged in any schoolwork, is he?
To be fair to the former middleweight and light heavyweight champion, he didn’t completely rule out the possibility of a rematch with Ankalaev. After all, the Russian star is the only man to have defeated Pereira in the LHW class. He direly needed the rematch to pitch himself back into the big picture. He previously quoted, “Gonna make some adjustments for the rematch, and I’ll be back much better, you can count on it. Never give up on your dreams. Chama.” However, the fight announcement hasn’t really come yet. Instead, Pereira was up for another deed.
As the animosity between him and Ankalaev continued to burn brighter, Pereira shocked the world with an unusual announcement. He took to Instagram and shared a video where he announced a signing and photography session. He announced, “Hello everyone. I’m Alex Pereira, and this Saturday, May 17, I’ll be at Highwood, in Weehawken, in New Jersey, for Fight Night. I’ll be there signing autographs and taking photos with you all. So, don’t miss out on showing up. Chama!”
It’s worth noting that this announcement came right after ‘Poatan’ narrowly escaped a controversy. His X account recently sent forth a rant against the UFC. But soon, he made an Instagram reel claiming that his account was hacked, and it simply wasn’t him. But now, as he announced a signing and photography session in New Jersey, the fighting community had no choice but to demand a rematch with Ankalaev. Let’s see what the fans had to say in the comments section.
Fight fans want nothing but Alex Pereira vs. Magomed Ankalaev 2
After listening to Pereira’s announcement, most of the fans had just one emotion running through their mind. They questioned Pereira, “And the rematch is not good, huh Poatan???” Another fan mistakenly believed that the video was actually a fight announcement. But alas! Not everything goes according to our wishes. The fan wrote, “I thought it was him announcing the rematch hahaha.” One more fan dragged ‘Denisa’ into the picture. The comment read, “You and Jiri are ducking Ankalev lmao.”
Meanwhile, many others demanded that Pereira sign the contract to fight Ankalaev. That’s the only thing many cared about. One fan weighed in on this and wrote, “No one cares! Sign the contract already.” Another decided to bring a bit of hope into the comments. He commented, “I wish you accepted 317 rematch so we could see you fight but happy you’re taking some time off. Hope to see you in September.” But with Pereira staying away from fights had its repercussions as well. One fan wrote, “Fight again bro don’t turn into one those guys.”
On the other hand, many others wanted to know the reason behind Pereira’s fear. Yes, to many fans, it seemed like the Brazilian was scared of fighting Ankalaev. You see, it was also evident from their matchup at UFC 313. It did seem like Pereira was scared of Ankalaev’s ground work. One of the fans asked, “Why do you fear Ankalaev so much?” Another fan hilariously commented, “If Ankalaev shows up there, will you run?? ”
What are your thoughts on the canceled rematch between Pereira and Ankalaev? What do you think of ‘Poatan’s recent announcement? Let us know what you think in the comments down below.
The post All Fans Demand One Thing From Alex Pereira as Magomed Ankalaev Exposes UFC’s Plan appeared first on EssentiallySports.