Ankalaev's manager points to the light heavyweight prospect as a bigger challenge than Poatan

Magomed Ankalayev in victory over Alex Poatán No. UFC 313. Photo: Reproduction/Instagram @ankalaev_magomed

businessman of Magomed Ankalayev, Ali Abdelaziz indicated that the rise of Carlos Ulberg may pose a tougher challenge to the light heavyweight champion than Alex PoatánThe agent's assessment comes at a time of anticipation for the rematch between Ankalaev and Poatan, scheduled for... UFC 320, on October 4th, in Las Vegas.

Ankalaev won the belt in March, when he dethroned Poatan after three successful defenses by the Brazilian, achieving a feat that other names in the category, such as Jiri Prochazka, Jamahal hill e Khalil rountree Jr., failed to do so in 2024. Despite the balance of the first clash, Abdelaziz believes that the champion's path still holds greater challenges than the Brazilian within the division.

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"I want to see him knock out Alex Pereira in his next fight. I want to see him defend his belt and clean up the division. But there are still a lot of competitors he hasn't faced. He hasn't fought Jiri (Prochazka), he hasn't fought Jamahal (Hill), and he hasn't fought Carlos (Ulberg)," Abdelaziz said in an interview with Submission Radio.

The businessman highlighted the quality of the New Zealander, who occupies third place in the category ranking.

"Carlos is a guy I really admire. I think he's really good and very underrated. In my opinion, he could be a tougher fight for Ankalaev than Alex Pereira," he added.

Carlos Ulberg will try to reinforce its position as a challenger when it faces Dominick reyes in the main event of UFC Perth on September 27 in Australia, seeking his ninth consecutive victory. The New Zealander is coming off a triumph over Jan Blachowicz by decision in March of this year.