Poatan gives his opinion on Ankalaev not being chosen for the belt fight: 'It's not my fault'

A. Poatan and M. Ankalaev are light heavyweight standouts. Photo: Reproduction/Montage SUPER FIGHTS

PUBLICITY:

The choice of Khalil rountree Jr. as a challenger for the light heavyweight (up to 93 kg) belt of Alex Poatán in the main fight of UFC 307, this Saturday (5), took by surprise many people who expected that Magomed Ankalayev was the chosen name, including the champion himself.

In an interview with journalist Kevin Iole's YouTube channel, Poatan spoke about the subject and, although he admitted to being surprised by the choice, he said he believed that over time the duel against Khalil rountree Jr. has been winning over fans.

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“I was a little surprised. I also thought it would be Ankalaev. I really wanted to fight him and I made that clear to the organization, but the organization knows what it has to do and they thought it would be better. I think it will be better for everyone. At first, many people didn’t accept it, but now they see that it could be a great fight and everyone is happy about it,” said the champion.

In Poatan's opinion, Ankalaev's style and the Russian's performance in recent appearances were the main reasons that kept his rival from the chance to fight for the belt.

“It’s not my fault that Ankalaev has a bad style, that no one liked his last fights and now they’re avoiding him. It’s not my fault. I want to fight him, for me it would be a good fight. A lot of people talk about my ground game and my takedown defense, but you just have to schedule the fight and you’ll see,” he concluded.