As we head closer to the UFC 313 matchup, Alex Pereira and Magomed Ankalaev seem to be turning up the heat. Ankalaev, who initially claimed that he would stand up and fight Pereira, seems to have changed his stance completely. In fact, the Russian has gone back to focusing on his stronghold, which is wrestling. In a recent statement, Anakalaev issued a stern warning to ‘Poatan’ challenging him if he can wrestle for the full twenty-five minutes of the bout.
But Alex Pereira is not the one whom you can intimidate with your words. Despite hearing the wrestling threats from his opponents, the UFC light heavyweight champion remains quite confirmed. In fact, Pereira issued a warning to his opponent in his own manner. ‘Poatan’ has asked if Ankalaev can stand up to him for five rounds.
“Let’s see if he can stand 25 minutes. If he can’t grapple me for 25 minutes he’s gonna have to stand up. We all know how that’s gonna go,” said Pereira.
Alex Pereira responds to Ankalaev telling him ‘I hope you’re ready to wrestle for 25 minutes’:
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) March 3, 2025
“Let’s see if he can stand 25 minutes. If he can’t grapple me for 25 minutes he’s gonna have to stand up.
We all know how that’s gonna go.” 👀
🎥 @nypostpic.twitter.com/fWM0ZgPp5q
Well, the matchup between Ankalaev and Pereira is getting more intense day by day. And while the hype is picking up for the fight, a former UFC fighter had a harsh take on how Magomed Ankalaev planned to go about the bout initially.
Michael Bisping Criticizes Magomed Ankalaev’s Initial Strategy For Alex Pereira
Michael Bisping has recently analyzed the initial claims made by Magomed Ankalaev. The Russian fighter wanted to knock Pereira out and stated that he wouldn’t be using his wrestling much. And this, according to Bisping, will be a disaster. Bisping mentioned that the Russian’s biggest strength was his groundwork. Thus, it would be ‘foolish’ not to use it.
“We all know that Magomed Ankalaev says he’s not going to wrestle. I think it would be foolish [for him] not to wrestle, foolish not to mix things up, foolish to not even have the threat of the takedown to slow down the outputs of Alex Pereira,” said Bisping.
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Now, with the recent verbal exchanges, it is evident that Anakalaev has transitioned from his no-wrestling strategy. With the UFC 313 main event coming close, it remains to be seen how things pan out in the future.
