Magomed Ankalaev accuses Alex Pereira of ‘running’ in scathing assesment of rival’s UFC 313 performance

Alex Pereira vs. Magomed Ankalaev on UFC 313 was a lukewarm affair, in which Ankalaev won a unanimous decision in five rounds. Although 'Big Ank' claims that it was not his fault that the fight was so faint.

The newly beaten champion had chased all his Takedowns and managed to keep Pereira on the backfoot. Although he was a former world champion Kickboxing, 'Patan' had nothing to offer Ankalaev at the feet next to a calf kick.

Ankalaev responded to criticism of their performance and brought off any responsibility for a 'boring fight'.

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

“He kept running away” … Magomed Ankalaev Slams Alex Pereira's performance on UFC 313

Ankalaev, after the UFC 313 conference after the fight, revealed that the fight played differently than he had prepared and is willing to give Pereira a rematch.

“It was very different from what we had in mind,” Anklaev admitted. “As you know, Pereira usually hunts the finish. . . . As you could see, he ran away from me. . . . This man ran away from me for 20 minutes. . . . Maybe he can fight for real fighting in the Rematch and not just run away all the time. “

Magomed Ankalev says that Alex Pereira was “for 20 minutes” during their fight on #UFC313:

“He kept running away from me. … Maybe he can fight for real fighting and not run away all the time.” pic.twitter.com/ctdtoqnw41

– MMA Fighting (@mmafighting) 9 March 2025

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Will Magomed Ankalaev and Alex Pereira Rematch?

Yes, there will probably be an immediate rematch between Ankalaev and Pereira. A scoring difference with one round prevented Pereira from making a split decision home, but that does not change that he is one of, if not the biggest active hunter on the UFC schedule.

The only reservation is activity, because 'Poatan' made a name for himself by being extraordinarily salable and active in the promotion. This means that the UFC Ankalaev is likely to put pressure to turn around quickly like Aljamain Sterling and Merab Dvalishvili. This is especially probably considering the age of Pereira, which is 37.