Rizvan Magomedov sees one particular fight that could get Magomed Ankalaev back in the UFC title picture.
Ankalaev (21-2-1 MMA, 12-2-1 UFC) lost his light heavyweight belt to Alex Pereira at UFC 320 in October. Ankalaev won their first fight at UFC 313 by lopsided decision but was quickly knocked out in their rematch.
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Pereira (13-3 MMA, 10-2 UFC) appears more interested in a fight with Jon Jones over a trilogy with Ankalaev. But if Ankalaev has to work his way back, his manager likes the idea of Jiri Prochazka (32-5-1 MMA, 6-2 UFC), who’s coming off back-to-back knockouts of Jamahal Hill and Khalil Rountree.
“Now it’s 1-1 between him and Pereira. As we’ve seen, Alex doesn’t seem too eager to fight Magomed a third time, but we’ll push for it,” Magomedov told MMA Arena (h/t Red Corner MMA). “Magomed needs to have one fight in between, for example, against Jiri Prochazka. That would be a great stepping stone to the next title shot.”
Ankalaev was dealing with a rib injury heading into the Pereira rematch, but Magomedov insists he wasn’t pressured to fight.
“No, the UFC never acts like tyrants,” Magomedov said. “Of course, the machine has to keep moving, and fights have to happen, but I don’t recall the UFC ever forcing anyone to fight if the athlete wasn’t ready due to health issues.”
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Magomed Ankalaev’s manager eyes ‘great stepping stone’ for title shot
