"This guy is complicated." Pereira responds to Uncleaev callout

[Ozze]

Would be a great fight for the Sphere.

I would advise him not to fight in Perth. Isn't Australia one of the countries that heavily taxes the fighters?

 

[FlyingDeathKick]

the problem is fighting in abu dhabi may affect who is favored to win the fight, not just who is fan favorite. non-muslim fighters would be wise to avoid fighting there.

They might let Ankalav come in at like 250lbs too lol "scale looks good to me"

 

[svmr_db]

Whats the trend with title challengers thinking they call all the shots lately? Seen a few cases now where the challengers thinks they can name the time and place and the champ just has to show up.

Once again, take a look at the list of upcoming PPV locations and tell me a more likely date you think you'll see Pereira. Ankalaev is suggesting 308 & the earliest Pereira is fighting is 306. Not as extreme as it sounds.

List of UFC events - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Pequeño Corey]

Would be a great fight for the Sphere.

I would advise him not to fight in Perth. Isn't Australia one of the countries that heavily taxes the fighters?

The sphere makes the most sense, but it doesn't really jive with Alex saying he wants to fight sooner. 307 in Brazil would be cool, but that will be even later. I'm guessing Tom and Leon will be on the Manchester card, and it's unlikely they'd give us three title fights on one card. I still think Perth it a strong candidate, regardless of whether Izzy and Dricus will be on it.

 

[Istryker]

Yea, Ank has a chin but he's never faced a striker like Poatan. If Ank was smart, he'd take that fight a lot sooner before Poatan gets better with his grappling.

He's almost 40 he won't get any better with it

 

[Goutfather]

They might let Ankalav come in at like 250lbs too lol "scale looks good to me"

or they might mess with poatan’s scale and then strip him for missing weight. who knows. all sort of backwards shit happens there. at this point, i think we can rule out the possibility of it all being unfortunate coincidences.

 

[HHJ]

Ank is a very solid challenge, particularly with the grappling.

If it goes down, I hope Poatan chin checks him.

I also think, because of his counter punching ability...He can catch poatan the way Izzy did. We've seen him lay guys out w his counters

 

[seanb1979]

I love how much Alex wants to fight. Nothing worse than an inactive champ.

 

[Barteh]

Most likely soonest they’d book Pereira is the Noche card in September. They’ve got headliners likely lined up for every ppv before then so I doubt they’d want him on any of those. UK card likely already has two title fights tailored to the local crowd, Perth card is likely DDP/Adesanya, don’t think think they’d want to put him on there over Adesanya. I don’t care when or where but that should be what happens next regardless.

Pereira has treated the UFC really well. I think if he wants to fight earlier they'll give him a spot on an earlier card.

 

[CatchtheseHands]

Alex is the best thing to happen to LHW. A Champion that actually wants to fight and is active. Gotta love that Kick Boxer grind. Kickboxers definitely seem to be the ones you want as champ if you want an active one.

 

[svmr_db]

Pereira has treated the UFC really well. I think if he wants to fight earlier they'll give him a spot on an earlier card.

That's true but the UFC has to juggle all the different PPV locations & slot in the right championship fights. Gotta think of the whole big picture outside of just one fighter.

Surely it makes a lot more sense to have Pereira vs Ankalaev headline in Abu Dhabi than something like O'Malley vs Dvalishvili. 0% chance O'Malley ever headlines in Abu Dhabi unless a regionally relevant opponent appeared.

 

[Kb7]

You are right, but we have learned here on Sherdog that the champ has no part on when and where the fights take place. The UFC just decides that, and the fighters will do what they are told.

Well what you say is true, the UFC are the ones who schedule the bouts based on business and what makes them money. Most if not all champions previous and or current in the UFC has had the opportunity to fight in their home soil. From Whitaker, Bisping, Anderson, Makhachev, Adesanya, Aldo etc the list goes on.

Pantoja is fighting in Brazil next, Edwards & Aspinall will be fighting in England, Makhachev will be fighting in Abu Dhabi against Dustin. Ilia & Dricus is in a weird position because they just became champions and the UFC has never brought events in their home.

 

[Tweak896]

He was asking for Ankalaev before. Jan was tuning up Ankalaev, Alex would probably be able to get it done there. Wouldn't be surprised if UFC gets some bullshit money from Abu Dhabi and holds Alex up until then too. Still its bizarre Pereira wants it so soon with his broken feet or whatever.

 

[Deceasedxo]

It's refreshing having a champ that wants to fight sooner rather than shelve themselves after every fight.

 

[Ruckus245]

View attachment 1041303


Alex responds during interview on the Trocacao Franca podcast:

"I don't want to fight at the end of the year. I want to fight sooner, so maybe that shows he won't be ready. I don't know why he said that. This guy is complicated. Honestly, I have to see what's best. I'm here to fight, but I don't understand best about other things like where is best [to fight] and where isn't. If I have to fight there, I will, but if it's not a date I want, then it's not best for me. I can say no."


I don't really blame Uncleaev for shooting his shot. Why wouldn't he prefer to fight in Abu Dhabi? But it seems that Alex is targeting a return much sooner than UFC 308 on 10/26. Not sure how bad his toe breaks are, but there's 105 days between UFC 300 (4/13) and UFC 304 in Manchester on 7/27. That's 15 weeks to rest, heal the toes, and have a 6 week training camp. Then there's Perth (305) on 8/18 if Alex wanted another 3 weeks. I don't believe that Uncleaev would turn down 304 or 305. Ramadan has passed, and he hasn't fought since he KO'd our boy Walker in January.

Do you guys think this match happens, and if so, when?

Spoiler: More trash talk by Ali

View attachment 1041304

I've worked places where you didn't have holidays off no matter what you said, you need to be here, to be the man, what do you have to do?