Ankalaev's manager once again provokes Poatan and suggests that the Brazilian's record was 'built' by the UFC

Alex Poatán e Magomed Ankalayev staring down before the fight (Photo: Instagram)

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Responsible for a great rivalry in the UFC, Magomed Ankalayev e Alex Poatán generate high expectations among their fans regarding a potential rematch. Although nothing has been made official yet, Ali Abdelaziz, the current light heavyweight champion's manager (up to 93kg), says October will be the month of his client's first title defense. However, it's still unclear whether it will be in Las Vegas or Abu Dhabi, if it does happen.

Known for provoking his athletes' opponents, Abdelaziz didn't break tradition and once again skewered Poatan's psychology. This time, the renowned businessman indicated that the Brazilian had a projected career and downplayed the abilities of his former opponents in the organization.

“Alex Pereira was designed with former UFC champions Kamaru Usman e Henry Cejudo. Like you, (Usman): You should have been champion three fights before fighting for the title. It was planned that you wouldn't get there because of your fighting style (…) I think he's a real fighter. He's a lion. But in a way, Ankalaev should have been champion two or three years ago.”

"Alex would never have been a champion, and I'll tell you one thing again: If they fight again—and they will probably fight again in October—it will be worse for Alex. Now Ankalaev has confidence. He understands. (Pereira) was a scary guy who could touch people and knock them out, but he fought a lot of mediocre strikers. None of those guys were top-level strikers. Ankalaev knows how to fight, he knows how to grab, and he knows how to strike. Ankalaev is more of a striker than a grappler, and we saw that he hurt him in the fight. Alex didn't hurt him," Abdelaziz said on the "Pound 4 Pound" podcast.

Finally, Ali accused UFC officials of trying to boycott the light heavyweight champion's career.

"It's Ankalaev's time. It should have been Ankalaev's time. Hunter Campbell, Mick Maynard, the entire UFC, they were all boycotting him. They knew he was coming and were praying for him to lose," he concluded.

Seeking to defend his belt, Ankalaev uses his social media to constantly taunt Poatan. The fighter predicts a fight will happen soon. Poatan also adopts a confident stance and assures that he is interested in an immediate rematch.