There’s a reason so many fighters from Dagestan are at the highest level in MMA. Almost disconnected from the outside world, and without time for anything else, they eat, sleep and breathe combat.
Not only is Magomed Ankalaev no different, he perhaps falls at the extreme end of the spectrum. While UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira has improbably morphed into one of the game’s most viral darlings, an online superstar whose embrace of meme culture has helped him transcend language barriers, the No. 1-ranked contender remains all-business, no-play in a way that makes him ill-fitting for MMA’s TikTok generation. Because make no mistake, Ankalaev stays disconnected. But give one of the baddest men on the planet a horse and mountain range to explore, and he’s a happy camper.
“I don’t know how to describe it. My life is training,” Ankalaev told Uncrowned. “That’s what I do, so I don’t even know what to say [about anything else].
“The one thing that I do enjoy is horses. I like to spend a lot of time with horses and take care of horses, and be at a farm where there’s horses. There’s a thing that I do where I go on day trips on a horse, so maybe like over the weekends or whatever, and get away to be in nature — but riding a horse there.”
And therein lies the rub with Ankalaev — and more broadly, why it took so long for UFC 313’s main event to come together despite Anklaev long being one of the division’s best. In almost a decade working within the fight game, I’d never been met with a noticeable sigh before starting an interview, but the remarkably stoic challenger had his fill of fight-week obligations by the time we spoke. That’s probably why he lit up when thinking about his adventures on horseback, joking that you “can’t take a car through the mountains.”
Ankalaev’s path to his big collision with the 205-pound champion this Saturday night in Las Vegas was more taxing than most. Circumstances weren’t ideal for him in his first crack at a title in December 2022. Upon fighting to a split draw with Jan Blachowicz after injury turmoil shook up the title scene, Ankalaev became the odd man out, forced to fight three more times to earn this second crack at a UFC title.
In the meantime, Pereira claimed the throne while pressure seemed to mount around Ankalaev. Was he not exciting enough? Did he lack the necessary charisma?
Ultimately, Ankalaev ignored any complaints or arguments against him and just kept winning.
“I don’t know what people are expecting from me,” Ankalaev said. “Every time I get out there, I try and show 100% of what I’ve prepared, and 100% of what I can do. When it comes to media presence, for instance, yeah, I’m not super active on the internet or any of the apps or anything like that. It’s just not something I like to do that much. I understand that it’s needed, but my goal is to make sure that I show myself as a fighter more so than a media presence.
“I would say I didn’t do as much in that [first title] fight as I’m hoping to do in this fight. That time, there wasn’t enough time to prepare correctly to read the opponent, and to be ready to go into battle. Now, it’s totally different. I’m fully focused, fully ready, I’ve had a great camp, I’m injury-free, and I’m motivated. I want to go in and do the best I can with this opportunity.”
Pereira vs. Ankalaev is long overdue, considering the Dagestan native has been flawless in all but two of his 22 career bouts. At times, frustrations about the lack of opportunity overwhelmed Ankalaev and led him to vent on social media. Was Pereira ducking, or was the UFC protecting its popular champ from a bad stylistic matchup? In nothing else, Ankalaev believes the signs beforehand were suspicious.
“I don’t know if they were hiding him per se, or what there was, protecting him,” Ankalaev said. “The fact is there is a situation where we would ask for the fight and his team would say something like, ‘Oh, he’s taking a break,’ or ‘He needs time off’ or ‘He’s doing something else, he’s got commitments.’ Then, the second the ink would dry up on the contract I would sign to fight somebody else, he would show up with a new fight with a new opponent. So, make whatever you want out of it.”
The two light heavyweights have traded verbal jabs ever since Pereira’s title reign began in late 2023. Both men have been supremely confident that the result will go their way, and noise from contenders is nothing new for Pereira, especially after past rivalries with Jamahal Hill and Israel Adesanya.
But UFC 313’s pre-fight buildup was different because Pereira put his money where his mouth is. Ankalaev has been touted as the champ’s kryptonite. Bookmakers seem to think there’s something to that, with Ankalaev coming in at -105 odds to Pereira’s -115 moneyline, according to BetMGM.
Pereira suggested a $200,000 bet, with the loser donating to a charity of the winner’s choice. Ankalaev appreciates the sentiment but isn’t entertaining the nature of the proposition.
“He said that we should bet $200,000 or whatever, but I hoped he knew that, basically, we as Muslims, we cannot bet,” Ankalaev said. “This is a big, big sin for us. This is not something we do. So I’m unable to bet, but I’m not against donating this money that he’s talking about to some sort of cause or charity. This is something that we as Muslims do already yearly.
“I told him, ‘Look, just talk to the managers, and whatever you propose, I’m happy about it.’ I just can’t bet and I don’t condone betting because it’s not something we as Muslims do.”
Despite the delays in putting this big light heavyweight title tilt together, and all of the talk prior to it, it’s still just business — at least from Ankalaev’s end.
In a parallel universe, Pereira would be the one challenging Ankalaev for Ankalaev’s title. Knowing that well and clearly, it’s felt like an eternity for Ankalaev to get this second opportunity — and he knows he needs to cash in, otherwise another chance may not come around again soon.
“How can I say this in words? The one thing I can say is this is a dream fight,” he said. “This is something I’ve been dreaming about for a long time. This is going to bring me to my dream coming true, becoming a champion. I only have a few steps ahead of it, and the potential of my dream coming true. This is everything.”
