Former UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira has responded to accusations of greasing from Magomed Ankalaev’s coach following their title fight at UFC 313 earlier this month at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
In an interview with Ushatayka, Ankalaev’s coach, Sukhrab Magomedov, claimed Pereira felt sticky during the fight and suggested he had applied ointment to his body to thwart takedown attempts.
Magomedov also alleged that Pereira’s mentor, Glover Teixeira, had a history of greasing. Despite the accusations, Pereira successfully defended all 12 of Ankalaev’s takedown attempts during the bout.
Pereira firmly denied the allegations on “The Ariel Helwani Show,” speaking through an interpreter. “Absolutely did not put anything on my body,” he said. “The way his coach is putting it, it sounds to me that he’s trying to make an excuse to justify the fact that he trained a guy to take me down, but the guy got stuffed for 12 of his takedown attempts.”
Pereira argued that the claims were an attempt to excuse Ankalaev’s performance, adding, “It’s like you’re in a company, you mess up, and you don’t do what you’re supposed to do, and then you try to make excuses to justify that.”
The former champion expressed frustration over the accusations, pointing to his clean record in combat sports. “It upsets me because even in my Glory career, I never did anything I wasn’t supposed to do,” he said.
Pereira and Ankalaev are likely headed for a rematch, with UFC CEO Dana White indicating it is in the works. Ankalaev himself has acknowledged Pereira as the most deserving contender for his next title defence.
