Magomed Ankalaev: "Tire shop to being a world champion" - Alex Pereira opens up about his ice-cold one-liner to Magomed Ankalaev

Alex Pereira reclaimed his light heavyweight throne by defeating Magomed Ankalaev in their rematch at UFC 320. Ahead of the bout, Pereira delivered an ice-cold message to Ankalaev during the face-off.

Pereira made his journey from rags to riches when he transitioned to kickboxing after working at a local tire shop in Brazil during his younger days. He then became a two-time Glory kickboxing champion before eventually moving to the UFC.

Ahead of his bout this weekend, Ankalaev took a dig at Pereira by claiming that after their bout, the Brazilian will be forced to go back to working the tire shop. During their final face-off before the bout, Pereira delivered a spine-tingling message to his opponent, saying that he does not want to go back to the tire shop.

'Poatan' appeared on the post-fight presser, where he addressed the situation and the significance behind his words, stating through a translator that he now wants to visit the tire shop with his belt.

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"I wanted to remind myself of that. I wanted to remember that moment and kind of put that responsibility on me of not wanting to go back to the tire shop because a lot of people ask, you know, how'd you make it from the tire shop to being the world champion? It's what I've told myself all along, that I wasn't going to go back to that, so I wanted to remember that."

Pereira continued:

"But I am going to go to Brazil, and I'm going to go to the tire shop, but I'm taking this belt right here."

Check out Alex Pereira's comments below (1:44:40):

Khamzat Chimaev called out Alex Pereira for a fight after UFC 320

UFC middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev has long set his sights on a fight with Alex Pereira. There has been plenty of bad blood between the two, with Chimaev insisting that he could easily defeat the two-division champion.

After the UFC 320 main event wrapped up, 'Borz' wasted no time, as he took to social media to congratulate Pereira for his performance, but also expressed his interest in a potential showdown between the two.

"@AlexPereiraUFC Congrats, now we need to finish our business. 🫡"

'Poatan' dismissed Chimaev's call-out during the post-fight presser, stating that he wants to make a move up to heavyweight.

About the author

Shehryar Burzin Edibam covers MMA and boxing for Sportskeeda. He began training in MMA in 2021 after watching Conor McGregor’s epic duel with Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229. That fight made Shehryar delve deeper into the sport and explore the fascinating stories of its athletes.

Shehryar's passion for all things MMA enables him to share insightful details and thrilling narratives of the sport with a wider audience.

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