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Unpacked: Aussie duo score title shots! | 08:05
Magomed Ankalaev won’t be breaking any imaginary arrows over his knee, Sunday.
UFC 313: Pereira v Ankalaev | SUN 9 MARCH | Alex Pereira will put his light heavyweight title on the line for a fourth time against Magomed Ankalaev in the main event of UFC 313 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.| Order Now with Main Event on Kayo Sports. Main Event on Kayo Sports and Foxtel is the exclusive home of UFC Pay-Per-View.
Same as this hyped UFC title challenger, you should know, says he won’t be listening to Australia’s Robert Whittaker, either.
Speaking with Fox Sports Australia this week, Ankalaev – who challenges UFC light heavyweight king Alex Pereira in Las Vegas, Sunday – says Whittaker is wrong to suggest he won’t survive even a round against the Brazilian superstar without wrestling.
The 32-year-old Dagastani also stressed he would be paying zero attention to Pereira’s now signature UFC walkout – which includes firing an imaginary arrow as he heads toward the Octagon – warning: “None of his theatrics are going to help”.
While he may be considered the toughest challenge of Pereira’s latest UFC title reign, Ankalaev has been urged to wrestle, and immediately, if he wants to take gold at UFC 313 this weekend.
Currently, the TAB has Ankalaev as a slight $1.95 outsider, with the champ at $1.85.
Yet speaking on his MMArcade podcast this week, Whittaker not only picked Pereira for the win, but suggested that “if Ankalaev doesn’t drop levels in the first three minutes, I don’t think he makes it out of the first round”.
Then on the Pereira, Australia’s first UFC champ continued: “I don’t want to be striking with that guy — period.
“He hits like a truck.
“He’s very comfortable and confident standing.
“So, yeah, you have to get him on his back in that first round.”
To which Ankalaev says what?
“Obviously I know who Robert Whittaker is,” he started, “but I did not hear him say that …”
Now that you have though?
“I must disagree with Robert,” he continued.
“A fight is a fight and we’re going to be prepared for whatever happens.
“We’re not coming out there to wrestle.
“And I don’t think that if I’m not taking him down in the first three minutes, I’m done.
“Maybe I do take him down in the first minute.
“Or it might be that five minutes goes by.
“You never know.
“Every fight is different and (my approach to the first round) will be dictated by the pace of the fight, the circumstances of the fight.”
Ankalaev was then asked what, if anything, he would be doing during Pereira’s infamous walkout.
While many opponents have, understandably chosen to ignore the Brazilian completely, others like Jamahal Hill have inserted themselves into the show – with the American title challenger pretending to catch and snap said arrow before then getting kayoed.
Asked if he might have his own response, the challenger said: “No, I don’t pay attention to any of the theatrics.
“We’re going to have that cage door close behind us and it’s me and him.
“That’s it.
“There is nobody there to help.
“None of his theatrics are going to help.
“If he wants to do it and promote the fight, I’m happy about that.
“Eventually he’s going to be locked inside the Octagon and that’s it.”
Elsewhere, Ankalaev said that while readying for Sunday’s title fight while also observing Ramadan has been difficult, he had little interest in if Team Pereira had pushed for the fight to take place during a timeframe that sees Muslims like himself refrain from eating and drinking between dawn and sunset.
“It’s not something I concern myself with,” he said.
“What I concern myself with is the fact that we have a fight against Alex Pereira for the title.
“That’s what is important.
“It’s a decision we made, a decision we said ‘yes’ to.
“And that was the hardest thing, to make that decision to fight during Ramadan.
“During this month, the holy month, (choosing to compete) isn’t something that we as Muslims do.
“So just to take that step and accept the fight, it was tough.
“But this is the opportunity we, as a team, were given and we decided this opportunity doesn’t come often, and that we couldn’t let it go.
“That’s why we accepted.
“So everything else, the stacking of the deck, it’s not something we concern ourselves with.
“We’ve got a fight.
“And at this point of his light heavyweight career, I’m going to be the hardest opponent he has faced.
“As far as we stand now, at light heavyweight, I’m certain I’m the hardest opponent he has had.”
While Ankalaev is confident he can stand with ‘Poatan’, Whittaker thinks that would be a costly mistake.
“If I’m coaching Ankalaev, I want him dropping to both knees and shooting from across the cage,” the fighter dubbed Bobby Knuckles said on his most recent podcast episode.
“I want him like, army crawling to Pereira’s ankles.
“We’re blanketing him for 25 minutes.
“We need to slow him down, or we need to get him to a position where he’s uncomfortable.
“We need to start making threat levels elsewhere.
“Because you see every standup fight Pereira is in, every single one of them, even when he’s hurt, even when he’s getting hit like when he was with (Khalil) Rountree, he’s just comfortable there.
“He will stay there.
“He’ll be there till the crowds leave.
“Like he’s so comfortable and confident in that position, in that dynamic of fighting, that it’s silly to fight him there.”
