Ankalaev seems to really want to fight Alex again...

[Luffy]

Well, Alex's next fight is not decided yet. Dana didn't say the Ankalaev rematch will happen 100%, as he's considering Alex in HW as a possibility, so DC and others are speculating that Dana wants to see the JJ vs Aspinall thing firstly, specially with Aspinall going through health issues recently...

Ankalaev though seems to be feeling alone if he doesn't fight Alex again lol... Alex accepted the August date but Dana didn't make it as a sure thing yet, so I think Ank is waiting for Alex to push for the rematch. He reposted the Khabib quote from one month when Ank beat Alex, saying "you made history tonight, Ankalaev, very good performance against a very tough and elite opponent! " and quoted tagged Alex... Then he went to media to talk about Alex again, asking "Alex Pereira, are you still a fighter? Are you done with it? I have agreed to a date already, I want to fight!"

Plus, Jiri won't fight for the title again next, he'll have a fight before. Ankalalev beat Alex already, why does he want a rematch this badly? Seems weird for a champion to be calling a challenger like this lol...

 

[Flower2dPeople]

Alex is a low hanging fruit for Ank. Like All LW/WWs thirsty for red panty night.

 

[J'Ghasta]

I guess he wants to show it wasnt a fluke. Respect Big Unc for not being afraid.

 

[orca]

lol at pereira huggers trying to say ank ducked pereira
imagine ducking the biggest payday in your life
risking it fighting somebody else for a smaller payday

the biggest prize that is the belt

i cant imagine a full grown man believing all of that its somehow crazy

ofcourse he wants another big payday
an easier payday lmfao

i also believe the ufc will try to feed pereira to someone else or maybe give him a strikinng fight again

 

[Khalex Chimaira]

That's why I respect the hell out of Big Ank. He can duck Alex the same way Alex ducked Ank and fight some mid opponents instead, but he's a real fighter and doesn't avoid dangerous matchups

 

[Luffy]

Yes... But Alex has already said that he wants the rematch and agreed to fight in August. But Dana is still waiting due to a potential for Alex to fight in HW. Alex won't use those native rituals with smoking native cigarettes on Ankalaev, he only uses it in some matches like vs Hill, Hill and Jiri... As for Ankalaev, he says he won't make the rituals for focus and mental stillness. He recognizes Ankalaev as a real one who doesn't depend on other things for strength I guess, so he saves that for some matches only, basically. And it can be used in the Pataxós native Tribe once a year.

Basically... Alex Pereira wants the Jon and Tom stuff done. He said he believes Jones will win and JJ since when he was first asked, despite JJ having talked about Alex before and Alex was just answering to that, he had never mentioned JJ — that'd be the biggest fight of my entire life... He said in the podcast here too that he watched the JJ vs Shogun match (it was around the time Poatan was getting into bigger organizations in kickboxing) and he had an interest since then. Jiri and Hill were two guys who beat Glover, he beat them... Alex would defeat the third guy who beat Glover if beating JJ... Alex said that'd be the fight he'd take all his focus and energy on, and that he more than winning, would like to shut JJ's lights off.... I think in case Jon and Tom doesn't happen — Tom Aspinall has also been going through healthy issues recently, Dana seems a big potential in Alex vs Jones...

Still tho, I think Ankalaev sees that Alex is not just the best fighter he can face in LHW, but the one who will bring the most $ ... No other fighter in LHW would bring the fighting money Alex does lol

 

[Superzorro]

He thinks he can beat current Jones. I do too. But that hesitation lets me know he’s aware of what would happen if he faced prime Jones.

Well, what would be the odds in your opinion, if you could make one just for fun?

I'd have JJ as a +150 favourite vs both Alex Pereira and Ankalaev. Basically, a slight favourite. Let's say, if I were scoring the fighters:

Jon Jones : 95
Alex Pereira : 93
Ankalaev : 93
DDP : 90
Jiri Prochazka : 85

Prime Gustafsson : 88
Prime DC : 88

You’re insane if you think any of those guys other than Jones are better than DC. Even Gustafsson being below DDP and Ankalaev is questionable.

 

[MMAFanCal]

Big Ank is amazing. He has made me a big fan of his recently

 

[Luffy]

He thinks he can beat current Jones. I do too. But that hesitation lets me know he’s aware of what would happen if he faced prime Jones.


You’re insane if you think any of those guys other than Jones are better than DC. Even Gustafsson being below DDP and Ankalaev is questionable.

I think they are. Not in terms of accomplishment, but JJ put a solid gap over DC and Gustafsson. It's like, JJ got better while DC and Gus didn't to the same extent. JJ vs Gus 1 was a very hard and competitive fight. DC vs Gustafsson was also very hard and competitive. But JJ and DC were one step ahead Gus, even if slightly. Then first fight, JJ defeated DC in a hard fight, but in a still obvious one, like, it was somewhat close. I'd expect a split decision of sorts. Then, vs DC 2, it wasn't that competitive anymore. He KO'd him and even tho DC had good moments, JJ was outstriking him overall. Vs Gus 2, it also didn't go the distance. Gus had some good moments, but JJ took a different approach, of being more defensive responsible, picking his shots and getting the 3rd round finish. It was even more dominant than the second fight vs DC.

IMO JJ put a gap on them that was considerably smaller in their first fight. So much so, Gus lost to Anthony Smith right after JJ had dominated Smith the whole 5 rounds. And vs Stipe, who was slightly better than Cormier if we go by the fact he got a clear 2-1 on DC, JJ dominated the fight in an even clearer way than vs Cormier or Gus 2... Which to me as crazy as that is, shows current JJ may be his best version. He might not be as athletic, but he has acquired more overall MMA knowledge to more than compensate for his athleticism loss... Upgraded his takedown and ability to keep his opponent down way more, plus, his strikes seem more lethal, as far as precision goes. He kicks in places that are lethal, like, kicking in the solar plex, liver, ribcage part with extreme precision. His boxing, specially his jab, look way sharper... I didn't see him missing a jab in his last fight vs Stipe. And it also carries more power, as it was visible his jabs would hurt Stipe. Precisely, his jab + right hand hurt Stipe a lot, so his diminished speed is compensated by more precise striking and more power... His shots transfer energy better.

Idk about DDP, but I could see Alex and Ankalalev as better than prime DC and Gus. Form example, Jiri beat Glover but it was a really hard fight. Even if Glover was 40 there, to some athletes, age catches up differently. Glover seemed as good as ever in that title run tbh. And Jiri was at Glover's level, let's say. Glover was dominated by JJ, yes, but he managed to make it challenging sometimes and his toughness was very solid. He was KO'd by Gus in the 5th round, but that was also a very hard earned victory by Gus, Glover gave him a run for his money. If we get a Jiri ~ Glover, I expect that Jiri to give a tough time to a prime Gus or DC. Maybe not an extreme difficult win, but I don't think Jiri would be outright dominated much like prime Gus and DC wouldn't outright dominate Glover imo so to see Alex destroying Jiri in that way, the only fighter who has ever done that to Jiri.... Add to the fact him and Ankalalev seem well matched, I could see them being possibly better than prime Gus and DC and both being a rival to current JJ. I think JJ would beat both now, but I see it as a hard fight either way.

 

[White lightning 2]

lol at pereira huggers trying to say ank ducked pereira
imagine ducking the biggest payday in your life
risking it fighting somebody else for a smaller payday

the biggest prize that is the belt

i cant imagine a full grown man believing all of that its somehow crazy

ofcourse he wants another big payday
an easier payday lmfao

i also believe the ufc will try to feed pereira to someone else or maybe give him a strikinng fight again

First fight was close. Second Alex starched him. Time to move on

 

[Xanzito]

lol at pereira huggers trying to say ank ducked pereira
imagine ducking the biggest payday in your life
risking it fighting somebody else for a smaller payday

the biggest prize that is the belt

i cant imagine a full grown man believing all of that its somehow crazy

ofcourse he wants another big payday
an easier payday lmfao

i also believe the ufc will try to feed pereira to someone else or maybe give him a strikinng fight again

Didn't seem easier to me.

 

[Gregoire1]

Let's say, if I were scoring the fighters:

Jon Jones : 99
Alex Pereira : 95
Ankalaev : 94
DDP : 85
Jiri Prochazka : 92

Prime Gustafsson : 96
Prime DC : 97

 

[PrideNverDies]

lol at pereira huggers trying to say ank ducked pereira
imagine ducking the biggest payday in your life
risking it fighting somebody else for a smaller payday

the biggest prize that is the belt

i cant imagine a full grown man believing all of that its somehow crazy

ofcourse he wants another big payday
an easier payday lmfao

i also believe the ufc will try to feed pereira to someone else or maybe give him a strikinng fight again

Wrong as usual