- Joe Rogan explained why he thinks Alex Pereira doesn’t want to face Magomed Anakalaev next
- The UFC commentator believes the Russian contender won’t be able to fight during the Brazilian’s target date because of Ramadan
Joe Rogan is certain Alex Pereira is not fighting Magomed Ankalaev next for a number of reasons.
Alex is irked by Ankalaev’s trash-talking
Speaking on his JRE podcast, the UFC commentator weighed in on the light heavyweight title picture. According to Rogan, though Ankalaev is the No. 1 contender, “Poatan” doesn’t like to face him next because he keeps on saying a lot of crazy things.
“He’s supposed to be fighting Ankalaev, Ankalaev is f**king very dangerous and he’s the No. 1 contender and he’s been on a winning streak for a long a** time, he’s only got one draw and that was to Jan Blachowicz who is the former champion. He’s at the top of the heap and he’s been waiting for a title shot for a long time but he’s been talking a lot of sh*t and Alex doesn’t like that he talks sh*t, so he’s like f**k him and make him wait,” Rogan speculated.
Alex wants to fight during Ramadan
Pereira seems to be targeting a UFC return in March and apparently, it will be within the Ramadan period. In that case, Rogan thinks the potential title fight between “Poatan” and Ankalaev is even more unlikely to happen.
“Alex just said he’s gonna fight in March and that he’s not gonna fight Ankalaev. If he’s fighting in March, when is Ramadan?… So he wouldn’t be able to fight. Ankalaev wouldn’t be able to fight in March… That’s exactly during the time period when [Pereira] wants to fight,” Rogan said.
In his latest comments, Pereira still thinks a showdown with Jon Jones is “inevitable” though the reigning heavyweight champion is being linked to a fight with Tom Aspinall.
On the other hand, Jones made it clear that he would only pause his retirement if it’s for a fight with Pereira. Ankalaev, meanwhile, has been yearning for a title shot.
Watch Rogan’s full podcast episode below:
