Amidst Ramadan fasting, Magomed Ankalaev cites religious reasons to turn down $200K challenge from Alex Pereira

Light heavyweight title challenger Magomed Ankalaev rejects Alex Pereira's challenge to bet $200K on the UFC 313 title fight.

Amidst Ramadan fasting, Magomed Ankalaev cites religious reasons to turn down $200K challenge from Alex Pereira

Magomed Ankalaev explains why he didn't accept Alex Pereira's challenge (via ImagoX)

Alex Pereira will defend his UFC light heavyweight title against top challenger Magomed Ankalaev this Saturday. The fight will take place inside the T-Mobile Arena, and the hype around it is huge. Ahead of the much-anticipated clash, the champion had some plans to make it more interesting. However, it feels like the Russian isn’t on the same page about it.

Pereira recently challenged Ankalaev to a $200K bet on their upcoming fight, with the winnings going to charity. While the challenge came across as both competitive and wholesome, Ankalaev’s religious beliefs do not permit gambling. In response, Ankalaev respectfully declined but proposed an alternative solution that aligns with his values.

As a Muslim you know betting is forbidden in Islam, and also as a Muslim every year I have to give 2.5% of my wealth to charity this is one of the five pillars of Islam….Many kids around the world are in need and we can do things after the fight but we don’t have to publicize it

Magomed Ankalaev via X

Ankalaev is Muslim and will take part in the biggest fight of his career during Ramadan. The fighter has already issued several warnings toward the champion and is extremely confident about winning the belt. The Russian poses an imminent wrestling threat, which will be exciting to see against ‘Poatan’.

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Ankalaev currently has a huge momentum behind him, but his last fight was quite underwhelming. While few fans are skeptical about his chances, others are expecting an upset. Pereira, however, doesn’t necessarily care about anything and has been preparing for his wrestling in the latest training camp.

UFC veteran discusses Alex Pereira’s fight weight 

Alex Pereira started his UFC career in the middleweight division to chase his arch nemesis, Israel Adesanya. After that, he moved up and has maintained the same dominance in the 205 lbs division. However, his size and fight night weight have always been staggering. This has given him an advantage along with his incredible power. 

Alex Pereira's ultimate move to the heavyweight division
Alex Pereira’s ultimate move to the heavyweight division (via X)

Pereira has also talked about potentially moving to the heavyweight division and becoming the first-ever three-division champion. A fight against the champion Jon Jones is undoubtedly a huge pay-per-view event. In his latest video, UFC veteran Chael Sonnen talked about this in detail.

So, Alex is 225(lbs) right now. If that magic number can be achieved anywhere between 220 and 240…How big can he get? 

Chael Sonnen via his YouTube channel 
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The heavyweight division currently lacks the competition that Pereira can fill in the future. While Tom Aspinall is looking for his title shot, Pereira definitely has a great chance. It would be interesting to see how things turn out for the Brazilian superstar.