Las Vegas — Magomed Ankalaev headlines UFC 320 this Saturday, with the light heavyweight champion finding himself in an immediate rematch with the man he dethroned earlier this year, Alex Pereira.
The Dagestani has seen a rather interesting build to his second encounter with “Poatan,” including an encounter between the two rivals at the UFC PI. A lot has been said between the two on top of that.
Speaking with media outlets including Cageside Press at the UFC 320 media day, Ankalaev (20-1-1, 1NC) said that despite a bit of drama, the drama ahead of rematch didn’t get under his skin.
“Honestly, it doesn’t bother me too much. The biggest thing, the most important thing is to make sure that this week goes safely,” Ankalaev said on Wednesday. “No injuries, no problems, and then the rest of this stuff, the build up, all of this talk, all of this hype, that’s just entertainment basically.”
If anything, Ankalaev seems to feel that some of the trash talk will be beneficial.
“All of this stuff just added a lot more aggression to the fight and to the build up to the fight, and I think we should expect a more aggressive second fight than the first fight. Which is something that the fans expect, and I think they’re not going to be disappointed in what they see.”
His first fight with Alex Pereira also came in Las Vegas, and Magomed Ankalaev was rather loudly booed by fans in the fight capital. Asked whether he was expecting a different reaction after winning that first encounter, Ankalaev said that he doesn’t “specifically pay attention to what happens. If they boo me, they boo me. If they support me— obviously I feel the support of the fans and it feels great, but if there’s boos going on, this is not something I pay attention to. I kind of clock that out completely because I come out there ready, concentrating for the fight.”
Still, perhaps with that in mind, the champ had pushed for his rematch with Pereira to take place in Abu Dhabi (where the UFC will return for a second numbered event later this month). “I actually pushed for it to be in Abu Dhabi because it’s way more comfortable for me. There’s no jet lag, it’s the same time, it’s closer to home, it’s more comfortable there,” Ankalaev revealed.
“The UFC decided that it’s going to be here in Vegas, and that’s cool. I never say no, I never say no to an opportunity,” the champ added. Las Vegas, he added, has became a second home to him. “A majority, or a lot of the fights in my career have been done in Vegas. So I spend a lot of time here, and I feel right at home.”
Watch the full UFC 320 media day appearance by Magomed Ankalaev above.
