Magomed Ankalaev isn’t getting sucked into all of the drama forward of his rematch with Alex Pereira.
After taking the sunshine heavyweight throne from ‘Poatan’ in March, Ankalaev will put his crown up for grabs towards the Brazilian bruiser in some of the anticipated sequels of the 12 months.
Within the weeks main as much as their UFC 320 headliner, tensions have been rising between the 2 205-pound stars. However after exchanging words at the UFC Performance Institute final month, Ankalaev is content material to go away the “baggage” behind and concentrate on the duty at hand.
“You realize, there’s not like an emotional baggage that I’m bringing to this factor or like an emotional one thing,” Ankalaev stated in an interview with the UFC. “It’s—principally, he stated what he stated. He stated I hid from him. I heard it. That basically upset me. I didn’t like that. So, I discovered him and I stated, ‘You have been on the lookout for me? Right here I’m. I’m not hiding.’ Then he answered to me. I used to be happy with no matter reply I obtained and I let it go. I’m not concentrating on that.
“So, it’s not like I’m emotionally distraught going into this battle—under no circumstances. Aside from that, respect, no matter, there’s nothing that I’m enthusiastic about besides I’m concentrating on the battle. I don’t care about the remainder of the noise.”
Ankalaev is the odds-On favourite in Pereira rematch
Ankalaev goes into his first mild heavyweight title protection as a reasonable favourite, trending on sportsbooks at -250, that means a $250 guess would web you $100, ought to the Dagestani come out on prime.
Nevertheless, if you happen to consider that Ankalaev will bounce again following his lackluster performance the primary time round, a $100 guess may rating you $230.
Who do you see leaving ‘Sin Metropolis’ with gold wrapped round their waist this weekend?
