MMA

Cormier: "Why has Pereira not fought Ankalaev yet? It seems the UFC is protecting their golden goose”

Former two-weight UFC champion and Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier has suggested reasons why the holder of the light heavyweight title, Alex Pereira, has yet to face the division's second-ranked contender, the Russian Magomed Ankalaev.  

«Can I be honest with you? I think this is, and I don't know why Pereira is not fighting Ankalaev. I don't know why that's not happening. What I do like is that now Ankalaev has to pass another test. Because what the UFC is kind of saying here is we've got this star. And we know that this guy here could be a real potential issue for that star. They will fight eventually, but they will fight when we have no other option. 

I don't think you run the risk yet. And I'm not saying Pereira can't fight or beat Ankalaev. I just feel like it is a very very difficult matchup, possibly the hardest matchup for him in the entire light heavyweight division. So I think he has to wait right, or you get him in there with someone else right now that's a striker. Because all these strikers he's just knocking out left and right, and every time he does that his star just shines brighter. So maybe that is what happens for Alex Pereira, but I'm very rarely surprised when fights get announced. But I remember sitting in Manchester and they said UFC 308, and when I saw Rakic taking on Ankalaev, my jaw dropped. I was like, they actually did it. Like sometimes you got to protect that golden goose a little bit And that's kind of what it feels like», — Cormier said to Forbes. 

Alex Pereira claimed the UFC light heavyweight championship in November 2023 by knocking out Czech fighter Jiří Procházka. To date, the Brazilian boasts a record of 11 wins and two losses in mixed martial arts.  

Magomed Ankalaev has won 18 MMA fights, with one defeat to a rival, alongside one draw and one no contest. The next opponent for the 32-year-old Russian will be Austrian fighter Aleksandar Rakić, whom he is scheduled to face in October at UFC 308.

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