Alex Pereira says he requested to fight Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 313: “I asked for him”

Alex Pereira says he requested to fight Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 313 in March.

Pereira originally said he wanted to take some time off, but after being back in the gym he said he called the UFC to request the fight. He says he was never avoiding Ankalaev so he made it clear that he asked the UFC for the fight.

“I did say that I wanted to take a break, but I started training again. I started feeling good. I started seeing my evolution. So I called my managers right away and I said, ‘I want to fight. I want to fight in March. I want to fight Ankalaev.’ I know he keeps saying that I’m a just an employee of the UFC, I fight whenever they want, but I asked for him. I told them when I want to fight,” Pereira said to ESPN.

Pereira and Ankalaev will headline the pay-per-view card on March 8 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, as the Brazilian looks to defend his light heavyweight title for the fourth time.

Alex Pereira says he’s ‘ready’ for Magomed Ankalaev

Although Alex Pereira says he wanted to fight Magomed Ankalaev, he knows the challenger is a tough challenge for him.

However, Pereira is confident he has all the tools to beat Ankalaev as he says he’s been working hard preparing for him.

“He’s as dangerous as any other fighter I’ve fought,” Pereira said. “Looking at him, the way that he fights, he’s an ordinary guy. Of course he has his weapons, he has his dangers, but I’ve been training hard. I’ve evolved a lot, and I’m ready for him.”

Pereira is 12-2 as a pro and coming off a TKO win over Khalil Rountree. He’s a perfect 5-0 since moving up to light heavyweight as he has two wins over Jiri Prochazka, Jamahal Hill, and Jan Blachowicz.