Magomed Ankalaev fires back after Alex Pereira mocks him over trilogy demand before UFC Abu Dhabi

Magomed Ankalaev went off against archrival Alex Pereira after the Brazilian fighter seemingly scoffed at his (Ankalaev's) demand for their trilogy fight to materialize. 

Additionally, the Dagestani combatant reiterated that he's willing to fight Pereira at heavyweight as well, so as to settle the score by winning their potential trilogy matchup. 

Magomed Ankalaev jibes at Alex Pereira after "Poatan" ridicules him over demand for their third UFC encounter

Magomed Ankalaev won his maiden UFC title when he defeated Brazilian combat sports icon Alex Pereira via unanimous decision to become the new UFC light heavyweight champion in March of 2025. 

Nevertheless, he suffered a first-round TKO loss at the hands of Pereira in their immediate rematch and thereby lost the title. That was followed by Pereira's vacating the 205-pound title and moving up to the heavyweight division.

Meanwhile, Carlos Ulberg knocked out former divisional ruler Jiri Prochazka to capture the vacant light heavyweight title earlier this year. Ulberg has been on the sidelines since, recovering from a knee injury. 

Also, Ankalaev is booked to fight Bogdan Guskov in the headlining match of UFC Abu Dhabi this Saturday, July 25. Meanwhile, former UFC middleweight and light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira suffered a TKO loss against Ciryl Gane in his heavyweight debut at UFC Freedom 250 last month. 

Given the variables at play, Magomed Ankalaev recently spoke to Red Corner MMA and affirmed that he'd like to fight Pereira -- at light heavyweight or heavyweight -- and beat him in their rubber match. He even labeled his TKO loss in their second clash as an "accident." 

Pereira took to the comments section of an Instagram post featuring Ankalaev's aforementioned conversation and mocked the Dagestani fighter. An English translation of his comment, written in the Brazilian-Portuguese language, read: "Are you even still alive over there?" 

During the UFC Abu Dhabi media day, Ankalaev was asked about Pereira's remark, to which he fired back at his longtime foe. The ex-UFC light heavyweight kingpin alluded to "Poatan's" loss against Gane, stating: 

"You know Alex Pereira must have been sleeping for a long time because I believe that he was put to sleep pretty hard. So he must have just woken up, and he must have forgotten that I'm alive still." 

Ankalaev continued, "Well, if you have a way to connect to him, or pass a message on my behalf, tell him that yeah, I'm alive and well. And I'm waiting to see what he can show." 

UFC Abu Dhabi headliner Magomed Ankalaev signals that he's focused on the light heavyweight division, but he'd fight Alex Pereira at heavyweight

When asked about whether he'd prefer pursuing the goal of being a UFC champion again or going after an Alex Pereira trilogy fight, Magomed Ankalaev suggested that he's focused on his division, which is light heavyweight.

The 34-year-old underlined that he'd like to cement his place as the leader at 205 pounds. The grappling savant implied that Pereira is doing his "own thing" and has transitioned to heavyweight.

Emphasizing that he'd move to heavyweight for their third clash, Ankalaev said, "My job now is to make sure that I answer all the questions that I have to answer in my own division in light heavyweight. And then in the future, possibly to have a fight with Alex Pereira specifically in heavyweight." 

Watch Magomed Ankalaev hit back at Alex Pereira and reaffirm his openness to possibly fighting "Poatan" at heavyweight below (*comments at the 8:50-minute mark of the video):