Magomed Ankalaev’s coach has remarkably played down the threat of Alex Pereira’s power, as the light-heavyweights prepare to clash again this weekend.
In the main event of UFC 320 in Las Vegas, Ankalaev will defend the 205lb title against Pereira, whom he dethroned with a decision win in March.
On that occasion, the well-rounded Ankalaev was too sharp for the former kickboxing champion, who could not find the kind of knockout shot that has felled so many opponents.
Still, Pereira is known as one of the hardest hitters in the UFC, and his power secured him the middleweight title before he moved up to light-heavyweight and won a second belt. Seven of his nine UFC wins have come via KO/TKO, including five stoppages of four ex-champions.
Yet Ankalaev’s coach Sukhrab Magomedov has played down that element of Pereira’s game, saying on the UFC Countdown show: “Powerful punch? Alex has a punch, but not the kind that can really knock you out.
“Alex will go for the clinch, wrestle. Why? Because in the stand-up, nothing will work out for him. Alex Pereira, there’s nothing with which he can surprise us.
“Not his work in the stand-up, in wrestling he definitely cannot surprise. He cannot surprise with anything. His technique is standard, his strikes are standard. He’s an old kickboxer. He has no speed.”
Although Ankalaev hails from Dagestan, he is not a wrestling-centric fighter in the way that many from the region are; the 33-year-old is also a crisp striker, and he outfought Pereira, 38, in that realm in their first bout. However, Ankalaev is also a capable wrestler, although his wrestling was largely neutralised by Pereira in March.
“I tell everyone, if Magomed opens up, he’ll surprise everyone, and can even outplay – in pure stand-up – a better striker than Alex Pereira,” said coach Magomed.
Ankalaev himself added: “From the first fight with Alex, I realised after rewatching it, I saw many moments where I didn’t follow through – where I could have finished him early, where I could have taken him down. The [next] fight will be such that we will dominate in it.”
Ankalaev’s win over Pereira extended his unbeaten streak to 14 fights, dating back to 2018. He has won his last three outings, which followed a draw and No Contest, after winning his nine previous bouts.
Meanwhile, Pereira won the vacant light-heavyweight title in 2023 with a stoppage of ex-champion Jiri Prochazka, and he retained it three times in 2024 with knockouts of Jamahal Hill, Khalil Rountree Jr, and Prochazka again.
Previously, Pereira knocked out old kickboxing rival Israel Adesanya to become middleweight champion in 2022, but he lost the belt in their immediate rematch, suffering a KO defeat.
