If Khamzat Chimaev needs to check his mettle at 205, Magomed Ankalaev is greater than able to welcome the undefeated Chechen monster.
Earlier this month, ‘Borz’ delivered one of the most dominant performances in UFC history, handily defeating Dricus Du Plessis to seize the undisputed middleweight world title.
Whereas there are not any plans for Chimaev to combat once more in 2025, there are many title contenders lining up for his or her shot on the newly minted 185-pound king, together with Reinier de Ridder, Caio Borralho, and the division’s top-ranked contender, Nassourdine Imavov.
Nonetheless, all of them may very well be ready, ought to Chimaev settle for the problem of the present gentle heavyweight champion, Magomed Ankalaev.
“I’m nonetheless on this division,” Ankalaev told Sport24Ru. “If somebody needs to maneuver up and check my weight class, I at all times say ‘Welcome’. If [Chimaev] strikes up, he strikes up. No drawback.”
Ankalaev vs. Chimaev could be an undeniably attention-grabbing combat, however for now, Ankalaev already has his fingers full with a high-stakes rematch in opposition to Brazilian knockout artist Alex Pereira.
Magomed Ankalaev able to quiet the skeptics in Pereira rematch
After defeating ‘Poatan’ in March to claim light heavyweight gold, the 2 will run it again on October 4 at UFC 320 in Las Vegas. Pereira reportedly went into their first assembly sporting a damaged hand and a case of norovirus, leading to his lackluster exhibiting in opposition to the Dagestani.
This time round, Ankalaev needs there to be no excuses when he fingers Pereira a second straight loss.
“I really need him to come back into this combat 100% so there are not any questions in regards to the consequence,” Ankalaev added. “I don’t need to hear speak like final time about him not being prepared or one thing not being completed. I need him to be in nice form in order that after our combat he has no excuses.”
