On July 15, Magomed Ankalaev gave a long interview to ACA Vice President Aslanbek Badaev, where he talked about why the UFC is protecting Alex Pereira, a possible title fight in Abu Dhabi, the coffee business and training with Francis Ngannou. Telecomasia.net lists the most interesting quotes from Ankalaev.
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Starting a coffee business: "All they need from me is money"
“I have a friend who owns coffee shops and restaurants. There was a good place, and he suggested I start a business. I asked him - what do I need for this? He said all he needs from me is money. I gave it to him and told him to go ahead and do it. I didn't even go there when it was renovated. They named it "Uncle", but they rewrote it in English letter as Ankl.
“I don't know much about coffee tastes to evaluate. I just either like it or not. There are some experts and they know about different types. So they try it and say whether this coffee is not right. I call the manager, ask him and introduce them to each other, and then they figure out which coffee works best.”
Pereira called out Ankalaev for UFC 305: "UFC protects the Brazilian as the organization's champion"
At UFC 303, Pereira knocked out Jiri Prochazka in the second round, defended his title for the second time, and announced that he wants to fight Ankalaev at UFC 305 in Perth, Australia. The Russian fighter believes that "Poatan" is benefiting from this situation:
"Pereira knows that I only just started training. And what if I had problems or injuries? We don't talk about this. I just started getting in shape, he watched how I trained and realized that I wasn't ready. Pereira chose the nearest date and called me for UFC 305."
“Alex understands that UFC is protecting him as the organization's champion. I don't know if this is right or not, but the league values champions a lot. Pereira names a date that doesn't fit me at all for this fight to take place.
“Pereira didn't lose his form after UFC 300. He rested for a week after the tournament and returned to training, not getting any injuries. Alex chose a convenient move for himself and an easy opponent (Jiri Prochazka), who is aggressive, and he can catch him."
“Have I declined a fight with Pereira three times? We never ducked it, on the contrary, we challenged him and asked for a fight. I didn't have a contract for UFC 300, I was just told - ‘you may be needed’. If they gave us guarantees that I would fight for the title 100%, I would have prepared, even though it would have been tough because of Ramadan.
“I don't understand the point of making Pereira vs Ankalaev fight in Australia. I don't understand what he wants. Pereira is avoiding the fight, I think he's bluffing. I weigh 110 kg now, I won't even have time to lose weight by August."
Ankalaev is confident he will beat Pereira in a stand-up fight: "He won't even touch me"
“Many experts understand that I can easily win against Pereira. Most he can get is a lucky punch. I think with my speed, Alex won't even touch me, only with a low kick. I'm so confident in myself that I can beat him in a stand-up fight. Pereira won't even touch me with his fists.
“If I have to, I will fight Pereira in a stand-up fight until the end of the match. I want to beat Alex, attack him and show that I am better than him.”
Bet on MMA with 1xBetAnkalaev may fight Pereira in Abu Dhabi: "I can take the fight anywhere"
“We hope to have a title fight at UFC 308 in Abu Dhabi. If not in October, then in September. I can take the fight anywhere. The UFC 305 tournament will take place in Australia. I need to fly there, get acclimatized. Pereira needs to do the same. I don't see the point in this."
“Pereira is avoiding our fight, let him run. But if Alex keeps the belt, I will get him."
Bet on MMA with 1xBetHow Ankalaev was set up for a fight with Blachowicz: "He wouldn't have survived two rounds"
"We wanted to end the rivalry with Blachowicz and asked for at least a three-round fight. If we asked for a rematch with other fighters, UFC immediately agreed, but not with Blachowicz. If we had been given a rematch, he wouldn't have even survived two rounds."
“What went wrong in the first fight? I had issues with my shoulder. I was working on cardio and not sparring. I had a pinched nerve, and my shoulder couldn't lift all the way. We thought we would postpone the fight until next month.
“I got a call and was offered a fight with Glover Teixeira, and I immediately agreed to step into the octagon. But he declined, and Blachowicz stepped in as a replacement. My shoulder was hurting, but my manager said we had to fight, as it was a chance we couldn't miss. We couldn't say no to the UFC."
Ankalaev beat Ngannou in sparring: "He really packs a punch"
“When I was training in the USA, I was often paired with Francis Ngannou. No one liked standing with him. Although Francis said he didn't hit hard, he really packs a punch. He didn't control his strength. When you get hit by a light heavyweight, you get angry and want revenge.
“Ngannou helped me a lot when I needed grappling. He wrestled with me a lot, we were helping each other out. When Francis was preparing to fight Gane, he wanted to wrestle more. And I wanted to work on striking with him. If we rate Ngannou's wrestling, it's about 2.5-3 out of . I don't know, doesn’t that guy (Gane) have any wrestling at all? When I got tired in training, Ngannou would take me down. But when I was fresh, few could put me on the ground."
“When we first started training with Francis, I saw that he wanted to drop me. He was very aggressive. I quickly took him down and held him. Later I realized that I had fought and KO’d his friend Dalcha Lungiambula, that's why he hit so hard. But later we talked and settled things down, everything was fine.
“Trying to take down Ngannou is tough, but if Jones did it, Francis would have a hard time getting up. Striking odds are 50-50. Jones is like a chess player: he throws off the opponent with his unique strikes. It could be said he plays a bit dirty. But I would give the victory to Ngannou: the strike, the power, besides, Jones is coming off after a layoff. We know this American is always on some ‘adventure’.”
Bet on MMA with 1xBetOn Dana White's generosity and UFC fees: "He's not greedy, he gives out bonuses from his own purse"
"When I see Dana White, he's always smiling. He's full of energy - it’s almost like he's in his own world: always cheerful, businesslike, joyful."
“When it comes to money, White is not greedy. After tournaments, he goes to the fighters, motivates them in some way, and gives out bonuses from his own purse. If you fought well but didn't receive a bonus, Dana may transfer money to your account: he might throw in $15,000, $20,000, $30,000. White is rightly called the boss. He has his pros and cons, but he's definitely not stingy.
“If you look at the figures of our earnings in the press, sometimes they write more, sometimes less. It all depends on where and how you fought, but most of the information is incorrect. Honestly, I don't care if they publish our earnings or not. Sometimes they exaggerate, sometimes they mention very little. I don't know where they get these amounts from.”
Bet on MMA with 1xBetIf Ankalaev were to end his career now, he would be a wealthy man
“If I were to end my career right now, would I be financially secure? I think so. I've been in this business for a long time. I have income outside of fights. I think everything will be fine like this. It just seems wrong to dedicate so much time to this sport and not achieve some meaningful success. That's what motivates me.”
At the end of the interview, the Dagestani stated that fans will see "a different Ankalaev" in the fight against Pereira - aggressive and hungry, who wants to attack the opponent and take the belt.
