Magomed Ankalaev says his rivalry with Alex Pereira is still alive, even after Pereira left light heavyweight, chased a third belt at 265 pounds and then lost to Ciryl Gane at UFC White House. The former champion said Pereira’s business with him is “not settled at all,” and made clear he still wants another crack at him.
That is why the heavyweight keyword is drawing attention now. Pereira’s next booking is already set against Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 335 in Las Vegas, but Ankalaev is openly pressing for a rematch that would cut across divisions. He said, “We wanted Pereira and I wanted that rematch,” while adding, “I am doing a lot to get that fight, we even said that even if it’s in the heavyweight division, we can make it happen.”
For Ankalaev, this is not just about unfinished business. He beat Pereira for the light heavyweight title at UFC 313, then later lost the belt back in their UFC 320 rematch. He also said Pereira’s win was no mystery to him, calling it “a lucky punch” and adding, “That’s how he beat me.”
He went further and tied that result to a physical problem of his own, saying, “I think they knew I had some kind of injury.” He added that he did not believe any fighter had rushed him like that before, and said, “If he hadn’t known I was injured, I don’t think it would have ended so quickly.” That comment matters because it explains why Ankalaev keeps pushing for another meeting now, even as Pereira has moved on to a heavier class and taken a loss there.
The wider picture has shifted around them. Since Pereira vacated his title to chase heavyweight, Carlos Ulberg has taken the light heavyweight belt, and Ankalaev has stayed active after returning to the win column with a technical knockout over Bogdan Guskov at UFC Abu Dhabi last July. But the one fight he keeps asking for is the one he says was never settled, and with Pereira already booked elsewhere, the question is whether that rematch can still be made without waiting for the division to line up around it.
