Ali Abdelaziz shares grim prediction for potential Magomed Ankalaev vs. Alex Pereira rematch: "They was all sandbagging him"

Magomed Ankalaev has been calling out Alex Pereira for a rematch persistently after dethroning the Brazilian at UFC 313. Pereira, meanwhile, is taking time to recover and says he’ll be ready to return in October, with a rematch likely lined up for then.

Ankalaev's manager, Ali Abdelaziz, recently confirmed that talks are progressing for a second meeting. He previewed the matchup during a recent appearance on the Pound 4 Pound with Kamaru & Henry podcast.

Abdelaziz questioned Pereira’s previous opponents, labeled them as limited strikers, and said Ankalaev exposed that gap in their first fight. He claimed that this time the outcome may be "worse" for Pereira, stating:

"I’m going to tell you something, if they fight again, and they will fight again, probably in October, it’s going to be worse for Alex... Ankalaev, he can wrestle, he can grapple, and he can strike. Actually, I think Ankalaev is more of a striker than a grappler. We [saw] him, he hurt [Pereira] in the fight. Alex didn’t hurt him."

He added:

"I think Ankalaev right now is going to be very dangerous. And remember, Alex is 38 years old. He travels all over the place. He has a great coach. I like his coach a lot. I think he’s a very good guy, but I think this is Ankalaev’s time. It should have been Ankalaev’s time. Hunter Campbell, Mick Maynard all the UFC, they was all sandbagging him, and now they know what’s coming. They were praying for [Ankalaev] to lose.”

Check out Ali Abdelaziz's comments below (35:30):

Ankalaev beat Pereira by unanimous decision in March to claim the UFC light heavyweight title. That win extended his unbeaten streak to 14 fights and brought an end to Pereira's five-fight undefeated run.

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Magomed Ankalaev recently accused Alex Pereira of pushing rematch during Ramadan

Magomed Ankalaev accused Alex Pereira of trying to schedule their rematch during Ramadan again. Ankalaev had refrained from fasting during their March fight, and he’s not happy about allegedly facing the same situation.

He also fired shots at Jiri Prochazka, mocking the Czech fighter’s recent graduation by saying he’s busy with "homework." Ankalaev added that Carlos Ulberg might be the toughest opponent in the division right now. He took to X and wrote:

"Alex Pereira now [saying] he wants to fight me during Ramadan again and needs more time, and the other clown, [Prochazka,] has to do his homework. Let me fight Carlos, I think he's more dangerous than all of them."

Check out Magomed Ankalaev's comments below: