Ex-UFC champ calls for Alex Pereira vs. Magomed Ankalaev trilogy fight "for all the marbles"

Former UFC champion Kamaru Usman wants to see Alex Pereira and Magomed Ankalaev run it back for a third time.

Pereira beat Ankalaev via first-round knockout in a light heavyweight title rematch at UFC 320 last weekend and reclaimed the 205-pound belt. In their previous encounter at UFC 313 in March, Anakalev beat Pereira via unanimous decision.

In the aftermath of their first fight, Pereira revealed that he was going through injury issues and hinted at going into the bout with a compromised hand. Meanwhile, Ankalaev reportedly suffered a serious rib injury going into the rematch, which was later confirmed by Daniel Cormier.

Given that both fighters were compromised in each of their two clashes, Usman believes a trilogy fight is in order. During an episode of the Pound 4 Pound podcast with Henry Cejudo, Usman said:

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"Yes, of course I would love to see the trilogy. Pereira didn't give us his best performance because there was something going on behind closed door [in the first fight]. Ankalaev didn't give us his best performance because there was something going on behind closed doors [in the rematch]. This is for all the marbles."

He continued:

"So the third fight, I do believe, is for all the marbles. You have to govern yourself to get to the fight as healthy as possible. This is part of our job. This is what makes our job so damn hard is to govern yourself and try to get in there as healthy as possible because there's no excuse, especially if that trilogy fight happens." [H/t: MMA Junkie]

Watch the full video below:

Israel Adesanya reacts to Alex Pereira finishing Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 320

Israel Adesanya recently shared his two cents on the Alex Pereira vs. Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 320 last weekend. The former middleweight champion claimed he knew Ankalaev was in trouble the moment he switched stances in the first round.

In a YouTube video, Adesanya lauded Pereira's game plan for the rematch and said:

"In the main event, wow, once Ankalaev went orthodox, I knew it was a wrap. I felt it was a wrap because you're giving him the leg he likes. That means his right leg was compromised with inside leg kicks already."

He continued:

"Yeah, he straight away attacked him, put him behind the black line, and then attacked the front leg. He didn't in the last fight because his leg was compromised, or his foot was hurt, so that's why he didn't throw as many right low kicks. He threw two or three, Ankalaev switched, and that's all she wrote, knockout by the champ." [H/t: MMA Junkie]

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