Alex Pereira has given his thoughts on the ongoing conflict between himself and Magomed Ankalaev ahead of UFC 320.
In the last few years, Alex Pereira has been a real MVP for the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He is always willing to take on whatever challenge they throw his way and because of that, he has earned the respect of the masses in the world of mixed martial arts.
RELATED: Magomed Ankalaev believes Alex Pereira may have greased in their first fight
However, ever since losing the UFC light heavyweight championship to Magomed Ankalaev, the narrative has somewhat shifted. Pereira has been involved in many back-and-forth exchanges with the new champ and while fans want to side with ‘Poatan’, it’s easy to see a scenario in which Alex is really trying to get in Magomed’s head as we approach the rematch.
In a recent media scrum, Pereira had the following to say about his rivalry with ‘Big Ank’.
Pereira attempts to explain Ankalaev feud
“I don’t know why he’s saying that because that’s 100 percent what happened,” Pereira told MMA Junkie and other reporters through an interpreter. “That just goes to show you it’s not him writing online. It’s not coming from him. What happens is somebody else is somewhere else writing for him, and then he comes here and sees me. Maybe he thought I don’t want to face him right now, and I’m alone. But that’s 100 percent what happened.”
“I try to avoid conflicts with my opponents,” Pereira said. “I even try to be friendly with them afterward. You’ve seen this before. I’ve talked about training with past opponents. I don’t really know what it is. He used to say a lot, that I was running away from him, that I didn’t want to fight him. That’s never happened. We all know the UFC didn’t want to promote that fight. That’s never what it was. I have no problem with him. I always try to be friendly and avoid conflict.”
Quotes via MMA Junkie
