‘Calm down’… Fans caution Magomed Ankalaev after he sets timeline for heavyweight move ahead of Alex Pereira rematch

Fans have mixed reactions to Magomed Ankalaev’s plans for a heavyweight move

It has become a very common occurrence to hear UFC champions talk about wanting to move up a division, with Magomed Ankalaev being no different.

This was originally the plan for Alex Pereira until he was beaten by the Russian at UFC 313 earlier this year which derailed his huge plans.

While Ankalaev is already booked to defend his title in a rematch with ‘Poatan’, before he has put the belt on the line, the champion has already laid out his heavyweight goals.

He recently told Ushatayka that not only does he want to move up a weight class, he plans on making it happen sooner rather than later despite only winning the belt in March.

“I’ve thought about [moving up]… I believe maybe two more fights and I think I’ll move up to heavyweight.”

The response from fans on social media was somewhat mixed, with some being happy about the idea of having another heavyweight contender in the mix.

Others were less enthused with his plan, suggesting that this would be a bad move for Ankalaev and the light heavyweight division.

‘You’ve not even defended the belt yet bud.’

‘Please do, that would be serious competition at heavyweight.’

‘Let’s calm down buddy…’

‘Most of the UFC heavyweights are out of shape. He can exploit that if Alex doesn’t knock his head off.’

‘One rematch defense and a normal defense and that’s all it takes to move divisions?’

‘He’s got nothing left to prove at 205. Time to move up and smesh [Tom] Aspinall.’

Magomed Ankalaev believes that it will be easier to beat Alex Pereira the second time around

Of course, just like at UFC 313 earlier this year, the light heavyweight champion’s plan to move up could be derailed by a loss next time out.

Magomed Ankalaev is clearly very confident that this won’t be the case, having told Sport24ru in a recent interview that he believes his rematch with Alex Pereira will be easier than their first encounter.

“Well, I think the rematch will be much easier than the first fight because statistics always show that fighting me in a rematch is very dangerous. I think we’ll prove again that it’s not a good idea to face me in a rematch.”

Ankalaev has been in two UFC rematches, against Ion Cutelaba and Johnny Walker, with him coming out on top on both occasions.