Heading towards his first title defense at UFC 320, Magomed Ankalaev , like other fighters, also faced challenges before his big win over Alex Poatan in their first title fight. On that occasion, the fighter won by unanimous decision, but ended up being negatively remembered for his inability to execute takedowns against the then-champion.
In addition to the Brazilian already stating that he wasn't 100%, Ankalaev admitted that he had also been a victim of injuries and ended up mentioning something in his speech that may have further hampered his performance: Poatan with body lubrication at UFC 313. Despite the statement, the Russian avoided treating the topic as an accusation.
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"To be honest, I went through a lot when I was fighting for the title. That training camp was terrible, I couldn't fight for most of it, I was battling a lot of injuries, and there were a lot of reasons for that. Plus, I told my coach right away during the rounds that I felt he was too lubricated. He was very slippery. These things happen in professional sports, I'm not accusing him of anything, but that's what I felt. I train every day, you can feel when people are slippery. He was very slippery. So, I felt he was very lubricated, and that also played a role," Ankalaev said during a press conference in Las Vegas.
Alex Poatan is defeated by Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 313. Photo: Reproduction/Twitter/UFC News
The protagonists of UFC 320 this Saturday (04), Magomed Ankalaev and Poatan will have the opportunity to settle their differences again in the octagon. Victorious in the first fight, the Russian is considered the big favorite for the confrontation and promises to knock out the Brazilian by the fourth round this time.
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