Ankalaev fires shots at Dana White, Pereira ahead of UFC 313

Magomed Ankalaev has accused UFC president Dana White of protecting Alex Pereira ahead of their light heavyweight title showdown at UFC 313 in Las Vegas on Saturday.

The 32-year-old, known for his usually reserved demeanor, took a more aggressive stance during Thursday’s press conference, calling out both Pereira and White while expressing confidence in his ability to claim the belt.

“You know what? Honestly, [Pereira] should say thank you to Dana White for protecting him this whole time,” Ankalaev said. “Now it’s going to be a whole different thing.”

Ankalaev enters the fight as the division’s No. 1 contender, with just one UFC loss on his record—a debut defeat to Paul Craig in 2018.

Since then, the Russian has remained unbeaten across 13 fights, including a previous title bout against Jan Blachowicz in 2022, which ended in a controversial draw.

Despite the missed opportunity, Ankalaev insists he has moved on and is fully focused on Saturday’s fight.

“I wasn’t upset about the last title fight,” he said.

“I have nobody to blame, it’s just myself. We saw the fight. The whole world saw the fight, but it happened the way it happened. Now it’s a whole different ballgame. It’s a different fight, it’s a different opponent.”

UFC betting markets have the fight closely contested, with Pereira slightly favored at -138 to Ankalaev’s +110 with Nags.bet.

But Ankalaev remains confident that he will leave Las Vegas with the belt and change the narrative surrounding the division.

“We’re planning on absolutely dominating him on Saturday,” he said.

“We’re going to make sure that Chama has no chances on Saturday. Whether or not he stays in the sport or decides to go back to the tire shop, that’s going to be up to him. He’s going to be the one that has to make that decision.”

Ankalaev even predicted that the crowd, largely backing Pereira, would turn in his favor after the fight.

“I’d like to say that I see in this fight everyone is against me,” he said.

“Everyone is saying ‘Chama! Chama! Chama!’ But guess what? Chama time is over. After this Saturday night, after the fight, you will all love me. The same people that are saying Chama now are going to be saying ‘No Chama!’ It’s Ankalaev time.”