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Magomed Ankalaev says Alex Pereira is ‘never coming back’ and wants to move on to a new challenger

Tyler Durden 2025.06.01 2 min read

UFC 313: Pereira v Ankalaev — Magomed Ankalaev and Alex Pereira | Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

Magomed Ankalaev is tired of waiting around.

In March, Ankalaev claimed the UFC light heavyweight title with a unanimous decision win over Alex Pereira at UFC 313. The bout was closely contested, and given Pereira’s significant reign beforehand, an immediate rematch seemed all but certain; however, that might not be the case anymore.

Although the rematch has been rumored several times, Ankalaev vs. Pereira 2 appears no closer to happening now than it has over the past few months, and the light heavyweight champion is growing impatient. On Sunday, Ankalaev tweeted his frustration, saying he has thrice accepted a date for the rematch but Pereira has turned it down, leaving “Big Ank” ready to move on.

Alex done he never coming back let’s move on June July August I said yes

— Muhammad big ANK Ankalaev (@AnkalaevM) June 1, 2025

“Alex done, he’s never coming back. Let’s move on. June, July, August, I said yes.”

Since winning the title, Ankalaev has, on several occasions, lamented Pereira’s willingness to fight him, most notably claiming both Pereira and Jiri Prochazka turned down a fight offer for International Fight Week. Meanwhile, Pereira has not spoken much about the potential rematch. He recently tweeted a cryptic message about the UFC playing with him, but quickly denounced it, saying he had been hacked, something Ankalaev later took credit for.

Magomed Ankalaev says Alex Pereira is ‘never coming back’ and wants to move on to a new challenger

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