Magomed Ankalaev’s manager confirms plans for Alex Pereira rematch

Magomed Ankalaev’s manager Ali Abdelaziz has confirmed plans for a rematch against Alex Pereira later this year.

As we know, Magomed Ankalaev is the UFC light heavyweight champion, and he earned that title by defeating Alex Pereira for the strap. We also know that there have been rumors about a reamtch at some point later this year, and it certainly feels like that’s the direction we’re heading in.

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For Ankalaev, it’s all about cementing himself once and for all as the best light heavyweight on the planet. For Pereira, he’s going to be hungry for revenge, especially given the run he was on prior to losing.

In a recent podcast appearance, the aforementioned Ali Abdelaziz provided an update on when we could see Ankalaev vs Pereira 2 take place.

Ankalaev vs Pereira 2?

“I think Alex is a good fighter. I think he’s a real fighter. He’s a lion,” Abdelaziz said about Pereira on the Pound-for-Pound podcast. “But in a way, Ankalaev should have been champion two or three years ago. Alex would have never been the champion. I’m going to tell you something — if they fight again, and they will fight again, probably in October — it’s going to be worse for Alex.

“Alex, he’s a fighter, but now Ankalaev has the confidence. He understands [Alex] was a scary guy, touching people and knocking them out, but he fought a whole bunch of mediocre strikers. None of these guys were high-level strikers. Ankalaev, he can wrestle, he can grapple, and he can strike. Actually, I think Ankalaev is more of a striker than a grappler. We [saw] him; he hurt Pereira] in the fight. Alex didn’t hurt him. I’m going to tell you something, when you have the confidence to hurt people or you start knocking people out, it’s a feeling.”

Quotes via MMA Fighting