Ankalaev Overcomes Boos; Warns Pereira During Presser – ‘We Killed Chama’
Magomed Ankalaev and Alex Pereira traded verbals during their final presser ahead of their UFC 320 fight this weekend.
Ankalaev enters the fight full of confidence, having given Alex his first loss at light heavyweight during their UFC 313 fight in March. The unanimous decision win made Ankalaev the light heavyweight champion, as he prevented Alex from getting his shots off in a measured win. While Pereira prevented Ankalaev’s takedowns, he never got a foothold in the fight.
There had been controversy following the fight, with Ankalaev’s camp accusing Alex of greasing, while Pereira is confident of a getting win, thus preventing the need for a trilogy. There have been suggestions that both fighters could explore a move up to heavyweight, although that may depend on the outcome of this fight. During the presser, Ankalaev had to consistently deal with boos, while Alex downplayed the Russian’s win, saying he could not do much even when he was not in the best form.
Presser
“Them booing me doesn’t mean they don’t like me. The reason is I keep beating their favorite fighters and they’re just mad at me. I can’t do nothing about it. The reason he became a champion is because I wasn’t there and now I’m here, I’m going to put a stamp on this on Saturday. Beat him again and then all the questions will be answered. I did whatever I wanted to do. There was nothing else I could do. The good thing is you’re ready now so we’re going to see on Saturday,” There is no more Chama, we killed it,” Ankalaev said
“I was on my worst day and that’s all he could do? On Saturday, your manager won’t be there to help you,” Pereira stated
Full Card
Light Heavyweight: Magomed Ankalaev vs. Alex Pereira
Bantamweight: Merab Dvalishvili (c) vs. Cory Sandhagen
Light Heavyweight: Jiří Procházka vs. Khalil Rountree Jr.
Featherweight: Josh Emmett vs. Youssef Zalal
Middleweight: Abusupiyan Magomedov vs. Joe Pyfer
Prelims
Middleweight: Ateba Abega Gautier vs. Osman Diaz
Middleweight: Edmen Shahbazyan vs. André Muniz
Bantamweight: Chris Gutiérrez vs. Farid Basharat
Women’s Bantamweight: Macy Chiasson vs. Yana Santos
Bantamweight: Patchy Mix vs. Jakub Wikłacz
Women’s Flyweight: Veronica Hardy vs. Brogan Walker
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