MMA
Magomed Ankalaev admits he ignored teams pleas before Alex Pereira KO
Published
1 month agoon
Ankalaev ignored his team’s calls for him to pull out of the
Alex
Pereira rematch.
Ankalaev won the
Ultimate Fighting Championship 205-pound title against Pereira
in their first matchup at
UFC 313 in March 2025 in dominant fashion. The Russian then put
his title on the line against Pereira in their immediate rematch at
UFC 320 in October. “Poatan” knocked out Ankalaev in just 80
seconds to reclaim his strap.
The Russian has now divulged the obstacles he overcame ahead of the
rematch.
Magomed Ankalaev says health issues led his team to urge him to
withdraw from UFC 320 against Alex Pereira
Ankalaev's team and his manager, Ali Abdelaziz, claimed that he was
not fully fit going into the rematch against Pereira. Abdelaziz
said that Ankalaev had decided to go ahead with the fight despite
being advised otherwise by his team.
Ankalaev recently admitted that he was dealing with health issues
going into UFC 320. The former light heavyweight champion also
reveals that he ignored his advisors when they told him that the
fight could be postponed if he pulled out. Ankalaev paid the price
for his mistake and doesn't want to relive the memory.
“I had some specific health issues at the time, and I was advised
by many not to even go out, to pull out of the fight, that they
were gonna move it to a later date,†Ankalaev told MMA Junkie. “I
decided that I was well enough to go on; I decided not to listen to
anybody. I made a mistake, and sometimes you have to pay for your
mistake. This has been a long time… I would rather not revisit it
if we can.â€
Ankalaev (20-2) was scheduled to return to action against Khalil
Rountree at
UFC Abu Dhabi on July 25. However, Rountree pulled out due to
an injury and has been replaced by Bogdan
Guskov (18-3) on 14 days' notice.
Magomed
Ankalaev admits he “made a mistake” rematching Alex
Pereira with compromised health at UFC 320 and sees
#UFCAbuDhabi as his road back to gold.“If we have to clean out the division once again, then we’ll do
that.”(via @MikeBohn)
pic.twitter.com/mLyalGl4aK— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie)
July 22, 2026
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MMA
Vitor Petrino fires back at Valter Walker: ‘That guy is a clown’
Published
39 minutes agoon
September 1, 2026
Petrino isn't letting Valter
Walker’s latest jab go unanswered.
Petrino (15-2) extended his win streak to four with a unanimous
decision over Serghei
Spivac on Aug. 22 to further ascend the heavyweight rankings.
Walker (16-1), who's also among the top-ranked heavyweights in the
Ultimate Fighting Championship, took a shot at Petrino on
social media by posting a photo from his recent fight, labeling it
boring.
Petrino has now fired back.
Vitor Petrino says he has repeatedly asked the UFC to book
Valter Walker
In a recent interview with Sherdog’s Marcelo Alonso, Petrino
responded to Walker's comments about his fight with Spivac,
claiming that he's campaigned for a matchup against the grappling
specialist many times, to no avail.
“That guy is a clown. Nobody respects him. I don't even want to
talk about him much,†Petrino said. “I've asked for that fight
several times and I don't know why the UFC hasn't made it
happen.â€
Petrino’s interest in the matchup isn't new. His coach, Cristiano
Marcello,
previously told Sherdog that Petrino had accepted a challenge
from Walker.
“Unlike him, who has already said he's not interested in fighting
the top guys, I like challenging myself,†Petrino said, taking
another shot at his countryman. “I'll fight anyone in the Top 10. I
love to challenge myself.â€
Walker is on a five-fight win streak, with all five wins coming via
leg-based submissions, including four heel hooks.
MMA
Usman Nurmagomedovs former rival returns for PFL Chicago
Published
2 hours agoon
September 1, 2026
MMA
Kai Asakura finds new life in UFC following rocky flyweight start
Published
3 hours agoon
September 1, 2026
Asakura is reinvigorated at bantamweight following a rocky
start in the
Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Asakura stopped Qileng Aori
with a second-round technical knockout at
UFC Shanghai on Aug. 29. The Japanese star is now 2-0 in the
UFC bantamweight division after losing his first two UFC fights via
submission at flyweight. He detailed how his approach has changed
since the move up and broke down his finishing move against Aori
soon after the victory.
Kai Asakura says bantamweight gives him more power, speed and
confidence
Asakura claims that he can be more assertive with his offense at
135 pounds, a significant improvement on how he felt while
competing at 125 pounds.
“At bantamweight, I have more power and I have more speed,†Asakura
said in a post-fight interview. “So, I feel like I can fight with
more confidence than at flyweight.â€
He also broke down the sequence that led to the finish.
“There were two things,†Asakura added. “The opponent was backing
away and he was trying to counter with the right, so I made the
distance a little bit closer and he was also focusing on the body
shots, so I put a head kick in there.â€
With two straight victories at bantamweight, Asakura now hopes to
face a ranked 135-pounder next.
“I want to fight in Top 15, anyone.â€
“I want to fight in top 15, anyone.”
After back-to-back finishes at bantamweight, Kai Asakura
(@kai_1031_) has
his sights set on a ranked matchup next time out
#UFCShanghaiMain Card Results âž¡ï¸ https://t.co/G8E8FUHmUD pic.twitter.com/3YQb84t02n
— UFC News (@UFCNews)
August 29, 2026
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