Alex Pereira: Not my fault Magomed Ankalaev has a ‘boring style of fighting that nobody wants to watch’; Ankalaev responds

Alex Pereira says it wasn’t his call to put Khalil Rountree Jr. into the UFC 307 main event over Magomed Ankalaev, but he believes at least part of that responsibility falls back on the Russian contender.

There was plenty of surprise when the UFC announced Rountree as Pereira’s next opponent over Ankalaev, who has gone undefeated in his past 12 fights but now faces Aleksandar Rakic in a potential No. 1 contender’s bout at UFC 308. Pereira can’t explain why the UFC made that decision, although he feels that stylistically, Ankalaev may have no one to blame but himself.

“Honestly, it’s not my fault that Ankalaev have such a boring style of fighting that nobody wants to watch, that the guys don’t want to put him in,” Pereira told Kevin Iole ahead of UFC 307.

“I’m ready to fight the guy. He’s ready to fight me, so whenever they put that fight [together]. People talk about my ground [game], so there’s a good chance I’m going to show everybody [in that fight].”

While he doesn’t control the UFC’s matchmaking, Pereira acknowledges that regardless of whether or not Ankalaev is the most exciting fighter on the planet, his upcoming bout with Rakic should determine his next challenger at 205 pounds.

Will that actually happen?

Pereira has no way to say for certain, although he thinks Ankalaev’s manager may have ruffled a few feathers at the UFC.

“Talking about light heavyweight, absolutely, the winner of that fight [deserves the next title shot],” Pereira said. “Even his manager [Ali Abdelaziz], super renowned guy, guy famous in the MMA world, go and says like, ‘Oh, this guy’s not going to fight. Go talk to Dana White.’ But Dana White don’t want to make the matchup, it’s not Alex. Then he goes and says that the fact that Ankalaev is not fighting for the title is a joke. It was like clown stuff.

“So now, he’s saying the UFC is pissed, why? Because the UFC and Dana White, and the guys that decide, so they’re a joke? They’re clowns? They’re a circus? So, you’ve got to sort that [out] with the organization.”

Obviously, Pereira is staying focused on Rountree and Ankalaev is doing the same with his own fight scheduled just a few weeks later.

Still, Ankalaev responded to the light heavyweight champion’s comments with a reminder about their shared record of finishes in the UFC.

“Alex have six knockouts in UFC. I have six knockouts in UFC,” Ankalaev wrote on Twitter. “He knows why he’s not fighting me and fighting the No. 8 guy. Let’s be real.

“Focus on your fight. I will do the same. We will see after if you will accept. Good luck, champ.”