Magomed Ankalaev’s team doubts Alex Pereira fights at UFC 310: “This is all just talk”

The team of Magomed Ankalaev isn’t sold on Alex Pereira taking a short-notice fight at UFC 310.

A spot opened up for the UFC 310 headliner when Belal Muhammad was forced out of his bout with Shavkat Rakhmonov. Muhammad suffered a bone infection in his foot, and will be unable to defend his UFC Welterweight Championship at the year-end pay-per-view.

Rumors began surfacing claiming the UFC approached Pereira about possibly fighting Ankalaev at the show. Ariel Helwani shut down the rumor and was told by Pereira’s team that “Poatan” has commitments that he plans to fulfill.

RELATED: MAGOMED ANKALAEV SENDS CLEAR MESSAGE TO ALEX PEREIRA FOLLOWING UFC 308: “STOP RUNNING AWAY FROM ME”

Magomed Ankalaev’s Coach Doubts Alex Pereira Fights at UFC 310

Alex Pereira turned some heads when he responded to the rumors by posting a phone emoji on social media. Magomed Ankalaev responded by also posting the same emoticon. While the social media posts have gotten fans excited, Ankalaev’s coach, Sukrab Magomedov, has his doubts.

Here’s what Magomedov recently had to say (via Meta MMA):

https://twitter.com/ChampRDS/status/1852363662746386743

“This is all just talk. There has been no official offer. We are ready to perform on December [7]. Magomed has no problems with a visa… There are doubts about Pereira’s desire, because he recently said that he plans to complicate our path to the title.”

It’s hard to blame Pereira if he doesn’t end up taking the fight in December. “Poatan” had a 2024 run that saw him save UFC cards by accepting late-notice fights. If he were to accept the fight with Ankalaev and win, then he might lock up “Fighter of the Year” just when fans thought Ilia Topuria stole it.

Ankalaev is certainly the deserving number one contender. He’s also no stranger to title fights, having had a split draw against Jan Blachowicz back in 2022. While White was none too pleased about that bout, he told reporters that he was impressed by Ankalaev’s efforts against Aleksandar Rakic at UFC 308.