Written by Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC
Magomed Ankalaev claimed the light heavyweight title with a unanimous decision win over Alex Pereira in the UFC 313 main event but was there any controversy with those scorecards?
Not according to UFC CEO Dana White, who wasn’t exactly blown away by the action during the five-round fight but he also didn’t believe there was any kind of robbery when it was over. The difference really came down to Ankalaev scoring a near knockdown in the second round, constantly pressuring Pereira and then using the clinch to control him against the cage to secure the victory.
“It was not what I expected,” White said about the fight during the UFC 313 post-fight press conference. “I expected a lot more shooting, I expected a lot more exchanges.
“I thought Ankalaev won the fight. I wasn’t shocked when I heard the decision.”
Even though he was confident in Ankalaev deserving the win, White also acknowledged that Pereira was a great champion and running it back makes a lot of sense.
“Probably [an immediate rematch],” White said.
Prior to the event, Pereira faced a lot of questions about his activity outside the cage after traveling to Australia to corner Sean Strickland for his fight at UFC 312 while also sticking around for a few promotional events of his own.
UFC veterans Daniel Cormier and Matt Brown both raised concerns about Pereira’s schedule and possibly being distracted leading into arguably one of the toughest fights of his career against Ankalaev.
For his part, White can’t say for certain if Pereira was distracted leading into his latest title defense but he knows from history that it’s difficult for superstars to maintain the same kind of discipline and dedication after reaching the top of the mountain.
“I think that’s a question definitely for him to answer,” White said about Pereira. “I definitely don’t know his schedule. I know he’s been bouncing around but you see this everywhere when somebody becomes a big star, and they start making lots of money. There are lots of different doors that open and opportunities.
“But there’s no doubt that everybody knew that Ankalaev was going to be a tough fight for him. Everybody knew that this was probably going to be the biggest challenge of his career.”
Whether Pereira was 100-percent focused and ready or not, White refused to diminish Ankalaev’s performance because he put together a winning strategy to beat “Poatan” on Saturday.
It may not have been a barnburner or instant classic but Ankalaev brought the fight to Pereira and ultimately handed him a unanimous decision defeat after five rounds in the cage together.
“I wouldn’t take anything from Ankalaev, and the pressure he put on Alex tonight,” White said. “Kept pushing forward, even in the fifth round I was listening on the headphones and Alex’s corner was saying ‘you’ve got to go after him this round. You have to let everything go. You’ve got to let your hands go. You’ve got to try to take him out.’”