MIAMI – UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira is unfazed by Magomed Ankalaev’s trash talk.
Pereira (12-2 MMA, 9-1 UFC) defends his title against Ankalaev (20-1-1 MMA, 11-1-1 UFC) in the UFC 313 main event March 8 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas (ESPN+ pay-per-view, ESPNews, ESPN+).
Ankalaev had been aggressively campaigning for the matchup, taking numerous shots at Pereira. Once their fight finally became official, Ankalaev continued to warn “Poatan” of what’s to come, but the champion is not interested in playing his game.
“He’s a complete fighter, hard-working guy,” Pereira told MMA Junkie of Ankalaev. “I’m a complete fighter. I train hard. I’m the champ. We stay a little bit more quiet. He’s the challenger. He’s been talking a little bit. But I just stay composed, I just do my thing and focus on my works. I trained three times yesterday, so I’m just doing my thing.”
Ankalaev is unbeaten in his past 13 fights. His frustration was partly due to Pereira previously claiming that he won’t be next in line for a title shot.
“Everybody can interpret it in a different way,” Pereira said of the initial tweet that riled up Ankalaev. “He always talks that he’s going to do this or he’s going to that. Khalil Rountree – a complete fighter, well-renowned fighter – isn’t going to do anything Ankalaev is going to do.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 313.
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