Magomed Ankalaev believes Alex Pereira utilized some underhanded tips at UFC 313.
The top results of their first battle in March noticed Ankalaev stroll out along with his hand raised after incomes an in depth choice win over Pereira to assert the sunshine heavyweight title. Subsequent Saturday, they rematch in the primary occasion of UFC 320 in Las Vegas.
Ankalaev and Pereira’s public animosity has grown int he lead-up to their second encounter and now Ankalaev goes so far as to say that Pereira cheated within the UFC 313 principal occasion by greasing to make it tougher for Ankalaev to grapple with him.
“To be sincere with you, I went by way of so much after I was preventing for the title,” Ankalaev mentioned by way of a Russian translator, chatting with the media at an open exercise in Las Vegas. “That coaching camp was horrible, I couldn’t wrestle for probably the most a part of the coaching camp, I used to be battling plenty of accidents and there was plenty of causes.
“Additionally, I instructed my coach immediately throughout the rounds that I felt like he was greased. He was simply too slippery. These items occur in skilled sport, I’m not accusing him of something, however that’s simply what I felt. I spar day-after-day, I practice day-after-day, you possibly can really feel when persons are slippery. It’s an excessive amount of slippery. So I felt he was too greasy and that performed a job additionally.”
Ankalaev managed to out-strike the fearsome Pereira over the course of their five-round battle, however there was no scarcity of wrestling on his half. He didn’t put Pereira on his again, going 0-12 on takedown makes an attempt.
This week, Pereira accused Ankalaev of being the slippery one, claiming the sunshine heavyweight champion averted him after they have been each on the UFC Efficiency Institute. Ankalaev vehemently denies Pereira’s model of the story, and says Pereira had a unique vitality after they bumped into one another later within the week.
“It’s a really attention-grabbing story as a result of the opposite day I used to be doing a little bodily remedy, like a therapeutic massage, after which after I completed I got here out, I used to be instructed that Pereira was there, however I didn’t see him,” Ankalaev mentioned. “Then the following day I see a video come out the place he says that I used to be hiding and stuff like that, which isn’t true, and I used to be a bit indignant after I noticed the video.
“So then I noticed him at the moment, I approached him, I mentioned, ‘Hey, when did I see you or when did you see me?’ It by no means occurred. To which he answered, ‘Oh, there was one lady who instructed me that you just have been there’ however, , he switched the subject.”
Ankalaev put collectively a 13-fight unbeaten run (together with a no-contest and a draw) in his pursuit of Pereira, so that they already had historical past heading into UFC 313. Forward of UFC 320, Ankalaev enters the octagon with an excellent larger chip on his shoulder.
“Actually, up till not too long ago, I had respect for him as a fighter, as an individual, however I not respect him as a result of he simply–OK, trash discuss is one thing that you just hype up the battle and also you say one thing humorous or possibly simply to be salty, however whenever you misinform individuals and say, ‘I noticed him and he hid, he was hiding within the PI,’ stuff like that that he not too long ago mentioned, I don’t respect individuals like that,” Ankalaev mentioned. “Why would you lie about one thing that by no means occurred? I’ve no drawback, but when he will get near me subsequent week and I resolve he’s too near me, in fact I’m going to defend myself. However apart from that, we’ll see all the things within the cage.”
