Magomed Ankalaev unimpressed by Alex Pereira's UFC 313 performance: 'He kept on running away'

LAS VEGAS – Magomed Ankalaev knew he had the UFC light heavyweight title the moment the final bell rang against Alex Pereira.

Although Pereira (12-3 MMA, 9-2 UFC) thought he did enough to win the decision, and some online supported his claim, Ankalaev (21-1-1 MMA, 12-1-1 UFC) thought Pereira didn’t do enough and that he was the one looking to fight the entire time.

“I was confident,” Ankalaev said at the UFC 313 post-fight press conference when asked how confident he was on winning a decision. “I kept on moving forward. I kept on pressuring him, and he kept on running away from me. For 20 minutes, this guy was running away from me. Then I heard at the end of the fight that he was saying he wasn’t sure why the victory was given to me. Who are they supposed to give the victory to? I was pressuring the entire time, and he was running for 20 minutes, and he’s wondering who’s supposed to get the victory?

“Listen, I’m happy for a rematch if he wants a rematch, but maybe the rematch he can fight for real, not just run away the entire time.”

Ankalaev defeated Pereira by unanimous decision in the main event of Saturday’s UFC 313, which took place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The Dagestani fighter stopped Pereira from making his fourth title defense at 205 pounds, all while also improving his own unbeaten streak to 13 in a row.

Given Pereira’s massive star power, and lack of top contenders in the weight class, many expect there to be an immediate rematch between the two. UFC CEO Dana White said post-fight press conference that they will likely will run it back.

Ankalaev is more than happy to do the immediate rematch, just give him a date and location.

“I never picked my opponents, so I’m very much happy and ready for a rematch,” Ankalaev said. “Whenever the UFC offers it to us, we’ll see what the date is, and we’ll be happy to accept it.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 313.