Poatan raises his voice and accuses Ankalaev of hiding from a meeting in Las Vegas: 'Champion of s***'

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

Alex Poatán increased the tone of provocations against Magomed Ankalayev less than two weeks before the rematch for the light heavyweight belt (up to 93 kg), in UFC 320In a video posted on his YouTube channel, the Brazilian recounted a curious episode that allegedly occurred at the UFC Performance Institute (PI) in Las Vegas, and accused the Russian of hiding to avoid a meeting.

According to Poatan, Ankalaev hid in a room until the Brazilian left, something the former champion believes demonstrates a lack of poise for someone holding the division title. The duel between the two takes place on October 4th at the T-Mobile Arena and promises even more tension in the coming days.

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"Something really funny happened just now. As I was leaving the PI, I saw Ankalaev's coach. I could tell he was kind of looking at us, trying to say hello or something, but I don't want to get too far ahead of myself. I kept to myself, but I didn't see Ankalaev. The funny thing was, I left, and when I got to the car, a guy from my team, who was still inside, saw the PI girl telling Ankalaev that he could leave because I was gone. The guy was hiding in the little room. Does he think I was going to run into him and start a fight? I'm not stupid. We're preparing for a fight; I'm a professional. How could this guy think that he'd hide in a room?" he asked.

Without mincing words, Poatan called his rival a wimp and a "shitty champion." The Brazilian emphasized that he doesn't look for trouble outside the cage, but assured that any dispute will inevitably be resolved inside the octagon.

"The guy talks nonsense and even goes so far as to hide inside the prison out of fear. Now I can understand why the guy talks nonsense and then hides in a room because I'm in the same room. The guy's a wimp. What kind of champion is this? A champion of shit. He's proven himself to be a coward. He's hiding now, but we'll be in the cage there, locked up. He'll have nowhere to go unless he jumps the fence. Champion of shit," he concluded.