by There is a reason why so many Dagdetan fighters are at the highest level of MMA. Almost disconnected from the outside world, and without time for something else, they eat, sleep and breathe the fight.
Not only is Magomed Ankalaev not different, but it may fall at the extreme end of the spectrum. While the UFC light heavyweight champion, Alex Pereira, has improbably transformed into one of the most viral punishments of the game, an online superstar whose embrace of the culture of memes helped him to transcend the linguistic barriers, the competitor n ° 1 remains all-business, without play in a way that makes him badly adjusted for the generation Tiktok. Because don’t be mistaken, Ankalaev remains disconnected. But give it to explore one of the most mean men on the planet, and he is a happy camper.
“I don’t know how to describe it. My life is training,” said Ankalaev. “That’s what I’m doing, so I don’t even know what to say [about anything else].
“The only thing I appreciate is the horses. I like to spend a lot of time with horses and take care of horses, and be on a farm where there is horses. There is one thing I do where I go to a day trip, so maybe like the weekend or anything, and go away to be in nature-but ride a horse.”
And this is where the friction resides with Ankalaev – and more broadly, why it took so long for the main event of the UFC 313 to meet despite the fact that Anklaev is one of the best in the division. In almost a decade, working in the fighting game, I had never met a notable sigh before starting an interview, but the remarkably stoic challenger had its filling of the obligations of the fight week when we talked. This is probably why he turned on by thinking of his adventures on horseback, joking that you “cannot take a car through the mountains”.
Ankalaev’s path to his big collision with the 205 pound champion this Saturday evening in Las Vegas was more trying than most. The circumstances were not ideal for him during his first crack in a title in December 2022. By fighting with a draw with Jan Blachowicz after injury disorders rocked the scene of the title, Ankalaev became the strange man, forced to fight three times more to win this second crack during a UFC title.
Meanwhile, Pereira claimed the throne while the pressure seemed to move around Ankalaev. Was it not exciting enough? Did he have the necessary charisma?
In the end, Ankalaev ignored any complaint or argument against him and continued to win.
“I don’t know what people expect from me,” said Ankalaev. “Each time I go out, I try to show 100% of what I have prepared, and at 100% of what I can do. Regarding the presence of the media, for example, yes, I am not super active on the Internet or on any of the applications or something like that. It is simply not something that I like to do a lot.
“I would say that I did not do so much [first title] Fight as I hope to do in this fight. This time, there was not enough time to prepare properly to read the opponent and be ready to fight. Now it’s totally different. I am fully focused, fully ready, I had an excellent camp, I am without injury and I am motivated. I want to enter and do my best with this opportunity. “”
Pereira vs Ankalaev has been expected for a long time, since the native of damage was impeccable in all 22 career combinations except two. Sometimes the frustrations regarding the lack of opportunities overwhelmed Ankalaev and led him to bond on social networks. Was Pereira Ducking, or was the UFC protecting its popular champion from a bad stylistic match? In nothing else, Ankalaev thinks that signs in advance were suspect.
“I don’t know if they hid it in itself, or what was, protecting it,” said Ankalaev. “The fact is that there is a situation where we would ask for the fight and his team would say something like:” Oh, he takes a break “or” he needs free time “or” he does something else, he has commitments “. Then, the second where the ink would dry up on the contract that I would sign to fight someone else, he would present himself with a new fight.
The two light heavyweights have exchanged verbal blows since the title of title of Pereira began at the end of 2023. The two men were extremely confident that the result will go their way, and the noise of the contenders is not new to Pereira, in particular after the rivalries passed with Jamahal Hill and Israel Adesanya.
But the pre-combat accumulation of the UFC 313 was different because Pereira put his money where his mouth is. Ankalaev was presented as the champion’s kryptonite. Bookmakers seem to think that there is something of that, with Ankalaev at -105 dimensions at -115 Moneyline from Pereira, according to Betmgm.
Pereira suggested a bet of $ 200,000, the loser giving a charity of the winner’s choice. Ankalaev appreciates the feeling but does not entertain the nature of the proposal.
“He said we should bet $ 200,000 or something else, but I hoped that he knew that, basically, we, as Muslims, we cannot bet,” said Ankalaev. “It is a big, big sin for us. This is not something we do. So I am unable to bet, but I am not against the gift of this money which he speaks to a kind of cause or charity. This is something that we, as Muslims, are already doing annual.
“I said to him:” Listen, just talk to managers, and whatever you offered, I’m happy. “I cannot bet and I do not tolerate bets because it is not something that we do as Muslims.”
Despite delays in the establishment of this large light heavyweight title, and all the conversation before that, it is only business – at least from the end of Ankalaev.
In a parallel universe, Pereira would be the only difficult Ankalaev for the title of Ankalaev. Knowing that well and clearly, it felt eternity for Ankalaev to obtain this second opportunity – and he knows that he must take, otherwise another chance cannot come back soon.
“How can I say that in words? The only thing I can say is that it is a dream fight,” he said. “It’s something that I have been dreaming of for a long time. It will bring me to my dream that becomes a champion. I have only a few steps before, and the potential of my dream come true. That’s it.”
