In anticipation of their main event this weekend at UFC 313, the rivalry between Alex Pereira and Magomed Ankalaev is apparently warm.
Alex Pereira has the chance to break Jon Jones's record for the least amount of days between four title defenses in the light heavyweight division with a victory over Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 313 this Saturday.
Prior to his fourth title defense of 205LB, Pereira has received some criticism of how he has prepared for potentially his heaviest opponent so far.
Nevertheless, Pereira Ankalaev offered a bet of $ 200,000 prior to their fight, which apparently caused Ankalaev that has issued a response.
Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC
Alex Pereira claims that Magomed Ankalaev Ramadan will use as his excuse to lose
A big conversation point for this enormous title fight is that Ankalaev will fight during Ramadan and although the majority of his camp has been outside of Ramadan, his last weight broken during it.
The Russian will be the only Muslim hunter to compete for a UFC title during Ramadan and he recently claimed that it will give him more power and strength for his fight against Pereira.
Ankalaev has already discussed the potential of an immediate rematch against 'Patan', but the champion has filed a claim.
“With all due respect I do not concern religion. I am a man who knows how to respect, I know how far I can speak. I think a lot before I spoke, “Pereira started explaining in an interview with Agfight.
“But I think he uses this (Ramadan) as an excuse. If something happens, it's like he bet, “Oh, I can't because of my religion.” Or: “I lost because I couldn't recover so well and I trained too weak.”
“But today I went to my lunch boxes, the UFC lunch boxes, and there were two bags with different lunch boxes with his name on it, all with a fixed time. He doesn't (fast). He cheats on people and tells them so that he can have an excuse later, “Pereira continued to claim.
Ankalaev claimed that Pereira UFC events attend for 'free alcohol'
When he has not booked a title defense, the 37-year-old champion enjoys his spare time by attending the fighting and meeting the fans.
Earlier this year Pereira went to UFC 311 and became the target of Ankalaev who claimed that he only went to UFC events for 'free alcohol' and 'camera time'.
Alex Pereira responds to Magomed Ankalaev and claims that he goes to UFC events for “free alcohol”
“I know the pain of the people. He plays with the feelings of the fans, feelings of the people who go through it. “
🎥 @alexpereiraufc #ufc313pic.twitter.com/g1yduworni
– Championship Rounds (@champrds) March 4, 2025
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Pereira has a well -documented history with alcohol and prior to his fighting career he was a struggling alcoholic.
During one of the last training sessions of his camp, Pereira sent his teammates an inspiring message and touched how he changed his life through martial arts training.
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