Ankalaev Says Pereira‘s Claims of Being Avoided at UFC PI Have Cost Him Respect
LAS VEGAS – Magomed Ankalaev has publicly stated he’s lost respect for Alex Pereira following allegations that ankalaev intentionally avoided him at the UFC Performance Institute in Las Vegas. The UFC light heavyweight champion addressed the situation Thursday, asserting Pereira’s claims are false and that he directly confronted Pereira about them.
Ankalaev explained that while he previously held Pereira in high regard,the accusations have changed his perception. “Honestly, up until recently, I had respect for him as a fighter and as a person,” Ankalaev told MMA Junkie and other media through an interpreter. “I no longer respect him because, OK, trash talk is something to hype up the fight, maybe you say something funny, or to be salty, but when you lie to people and say, ‘I saw him, and he hid,’ and stuff like that he recently said, I don’t respect people like that. Why would you lie about something that never happened?”
The animosity reportedly stemmed from Pereira’s assertion that Ankalaev deliberately evaded him at the UFC PI. Ankalaev countered that he encountered pereira,accompanied by his coach,while Pereira was with his team. He stated he directly challenged Pereira on the claims.
“The problem here is that he was talking all this crap just a few days ago, and then today I saw him - it was just me and my coach and him and his whole team – I approached him and I said, ‘Hey, guys. You were lying that I was hiding and stuff. I’m right here right now. What are you going to do?'” Ankalaev recounted. “he responded by saying,’Oh this girl said that,this guy said that,’ and he starting making stuff up on the spot.”
Ankalaev emphasized his willingness to engage physically if Pereira escalates the situation. “I have no problem, but say he gets close to me next week and decides to get too close to me, of course, I’m going to defend myself. Other then that, we’ll see everything in the cage.”
The two fighters are scheduled to compete for the UFC light heavyweight championship in the main event of UFC 320 on October 4.