Poatan mocks rival and irritates Ankalaev before UFC Abu Dhabi

With fight confirmed in UFC Abu Dhabi this Saturday (25), Ankalaev took advantage of the event’s press conference to rebut the Brazilian and challenge him again for a trilogy.

“Are you still alive?”asked Poatan, in a comment on Instagram. “He must have slept for a long time, I think he was knocked out pretty hard. I’m alive and well, and I’m waiting to see what he can show.”returned Magomed, referring to the defeat to Ciryl Gane.

Even though Pereira has moved up a category, the Russian still hopes to have a third fight against the Brazilian, as they are tied at 1-1. In the first clash, Ankalaev won by unanimous decision from the judges. In the second, Poatan knocked him out in just 80 seconds, regaining the light heavyweight belt.

After recovering, Magomed minimized the result of the second fight and said it was just an “accident”, as he was experiencing health problems, but he preferred to continue anyway rather than listen to his team, who preferred to reschedule the duel.

New title fight

Poatan left the light heavyweight title vacant to move up a category and fight for the third belt of his career, but ended up being knocked out by Ciryl Gane at the White House. With that, he left his future in the UFC open, without deciding whether he will continue in the heavyweight division or return to the lower division.

The Brazilian would most likely only accept a fight with Ankalaev if it was for the category belt, which currently belongs to Carlos Ulberg. To complete the trilogy, the Russian would have to become light heavyweight champion once again. In any case, Pereira is on medical suspension until December.