Magomed Ankalaev is on top of the world at the moment after his UFC 313 victory. He defeated the seemingly unbeatable Alex Pereira, winning the majority of the rounds, in his second-ever title fight under the UFC banner. Following the fight, he sat down for the press conference where a reporter asked Ankalaev about his chances against another legendary light heavyweight fighter, Jon Jones, who’s now the heavyweight champion.
Well, guess what? The Russian star seemed quite confident about beating Jon Jones if he had been fighting as a 205’er back when ‘Bones’ was the man running the show in that division. “I think I could. Back then if I was fighting in the same time as Jon Jones, I don’t see why not,” said Magomed Ankalaev at the post-fight press conference.
Well, that’s a pretty bold claim from Magomed Ankalaev, given that some of the light heavyweight division’s most legendary fighters never had any answers for Jon Jones. Quinton Jackson, Mauricio Rua, Chael Sonnen, Lyoto Machida – these are just some names that Jones dominated during his 205-pound run. Do you think Ankalaev could have bested the now-heavyweight champion?
MGM Grand Garden Arena LAS VEGAS, NV – December 9: Magomed Ankalaev steps on the scale for the ceremonial weigh-in at MGM Grand Garden Arena for UFC 282 -Blachowicz vs Ankalaev : Ceremonial Weigh-ins on December 9, 2022 in Las Vegas, NV, United States. Photo by Louis Grasse/PxImages Louis Grasse / SPP PUBLICATIONxNOTxINxBRAxMEX Copyright: xLouisxGrassex/xSPPx spp-en-LoGr-lrg2212091337822_UFC282_weighins
His claims could be tall, but then again, Magomed Ankalaev is the champion and maybe he finds his way into a fight against Jon Jones instead of Alex Pereira, who’s been the pick for ‘Bones’ for a legacy fight. While Jones hasn’t yet responded to these claims, Dagestan’s own Khabib Nurmagomedov has reacted to Ankalaev’s win, and he’s very pleased with his fellow countrymen.
Khabib Nurmagomed congratulates Magomed Ankalaev
Islam Makhachev was pretty confident when he claimed during an interview with Daniel Cormier that Magomed Ankalaev will get the better of Alex Pereira, which he did. Despite not training together, Khabib Nurmagomedov and Co. have a healthy respect for the newly crowned UFC light heavyweight champion. ‘The Eagle’ didn’t hold back on his words while congratulating the 32-year-old on the biggest victory of his professional fighting career at UFC 313.
Congratulations Brother @AnkalaevM you made a history it was amazing performance against very tough opponent.
— khabib nurmagomedov (@TeamKhabib) March 9, 2025
“Congratulations Brother [Magomed Ankalaev] you made a history,” Khabib Nurmagomedov tweeted, claiming that it was a big day for not only Ankalaev but for Dagestan MMA as well. “It was amazing performance against very tough opponent.” Well, it was a victory well deserved given that the odds were stacked against Magomed Ankalaev as it was the holy month of Ramadan.
For most fans and analysts, a rematch between Ankalaev and Alex Pereira could be in order, given that ‘Poatan’ had been a dominant champion during his reign. Moreover, his loss to the Dagestan native wasn’t a decisive one, so maybe Dana White gives Pereira a chance to win his title back. Let us know what you think in the comments down below.
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