At UFC 313, Magomed Ankalaev ended Alex Pereira’s dominant reign at 205 lbs. The Brazilian had defended the title three times in just 175 days, all by stoppage against Jamahal Hill, Jiri Prochazka, and Khalil Rountree Jr. But Ankalaev flipped the script in March, smothering the champion with relentless pressure. Though Pereira stuffed all 12 takedown attempts, he never found his rhythm, and the judges awarded Ankalaev a unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 49-46). With an immediate rematch set for UFC 320 in October, things seem to be heating up between the two top dogs.
Nearly a week out from their rematch, Ankalaev and Pereira ran into each other at the UFC Performance Institute in Las Vegas, adding fuel to their heated rivalry. The encounter followed weeks of online back-and-forth, with Ankalaev vowing to send Pereira back to his tire shop and the Brazilian firing back by calling him a chump.
Alex Pereira and Magomed Ankalaev Trade Barbs Through Translator in Heated UFC PI Exchange
On Thursday, Ankalaev shared a short Instagram Stories clip of their face-to-face meeting. The video shows Ankalaev speaking in Russian into a phone held by a man, who then translates the message to Pereira in Portuguese. Sitting on a couch, the former champion responded after hearing Ankalaev say, “We’ll fight on Oct. 4, and we don’t have to exchange words anymore.”
Pereira shot back: “I never said anything. He’s always talked. I’ve never said anything; he’s always talked. And now that we’re close, face to face, he’s an asshole.”
Magomed Ankalaev ran into Alex Pereira at the UFC PI and it looks like they were in the middle of a heated conversation 😳🍿
🗣️ Magomed: “You just keep throwing words around. Let’s settle it in the octagon.”
🗣️ Alex: “I never said anything, they’re the ones who are always… pic.twitter.com/SOZ6BJv9QN
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) September 25, 2025
The clip, about 20 seconds long, cut off at that point. Pereira later indicated that a longer version of the encounter would be released on his YouTube channel.
As stated, Pereira had already called Ankalaev a chump, accusing him of avoiding a previous run-in at the PI. After the confrontation, the reigning champion explained on Twitter why he approached Pereira:
“Had my last hard training today and I’m good to go. Met my opponent today, I confronted him for lying about seeing me in the PI the other day, to which he said ohh no, it was one girl who told me she saw you, but I didn’t see you myself.’ I will turn off his electricity next week.”
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Had my last hard training today and I’m good to go.
Met my opponent today, I confronted him for lying about seeing me in the PI the other day to which he said “ohh no it was one girl who told me she saw you but I didn’t see you myself”
I will turn off his electricity next week
— Muhammad big ANK Ankalaev (@AnkalaevM) September 25, 2025
Following the heated confrontation at the UFC PI, Ankalaev doubled down in an interview, making it clear that he no longer has any respect for Pereira and intends to come for blood at UFC 320.
Magomed Ankalaev Vows to Shut Down Alex Pereira at UFC 320
Speaking to MMA Junkie through a translator, the Dagestani explained that the situation has escalated far beyond simple trash talk and has now crossed the line in his eyes.
He said, “Honestly, up until recently, I had respect for him as a fighter and as a person. I no longer respect him because, OK, trash talk is something to hype up the fight, maybe you say something funny, or to be salty, but when you lie to people and say, ‘I saw him, and he hid,’ and stuff like that, he recently said, I don’t respect people like that. Why would you lie about something that never happened?”
“I speak enough English to explain myself. I can say what I want to say, but I don’t think he knows…”🗣️
Ankalaev explains why he no longer respects Alex Pereira 👀
🎥 @TheMacLife pic.twitter.com/s94ILYC8nt
— Red Corner MMA (@RedCorner_MMA) September 26, 2025
Ankalaev made it clear he is not interested in games ahead of their light heavyweight championship rematch on October 4th. He pointed out the contradiction in Pereira’s behavior, noting that the Brazilian had been talking about all this just a few days ago.
According to him, when they finally crossed paths at the Performance Institute, it was just him and his coach facing Pereira and his entire team. Ankalaev said he confronted the Brazilian directly: “Hey, guys. You were lying that I was hiding and stuff. I’m right here right now. What are you going to do?”
He explained that Pereira brushed it off by blaming others, saying things like, “Oh, this girl said that, this guy said that,” and making up excuses on the spot. The reigning champion added that he has no problem with confrontation, but made it clear that if Pereira tries to get too close next week, he will defend himself. Apart from this, the Dagestani aims to put the rivalry to rest inside the cage at UFC 320.
