Magomed Ankalaev surprising 0/12 stat against Alex Pereira sparks fiery debate among MMA fans: “Sign of failure”
Magomed Ankalaev gets slammed for not landing a single takedown against Alex Pereira and still won the bout at UFC 313.
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Magomed Ankalaev failed 12 times to takedown Alex Pereira at UFC 313 (via Instagram)
Magomed Ankalaev vs. Alex Pereira at UFC 313 turned out to be a massive shocker for many fans. Contrary to popular expectations, the Russian defeated ‘Poatan’ and became the new light heavyweight champion. However, the fight was close and the official stats did raise several doubts among the MMA community.
After five rounds of grueling back and forth, Magomed Ankalaev won the fight via unanimous decision. Following the bout, the stats went viral on the internet. It was clear that the Russian landed more significant strikes, which helped him outpoint Pereira. However, it was the takedown attempts which became the topic of debate.
Going into the fight, it was expected that Ankalaev would test Alex Pereira’s wrestling. During the fight, the Brazilian passed it by flying colours by stuffing all 12 takedown attempts made by the Dagestani. It was a huge achievement, but many believe that it impacted his striking performance.
Yes. The failed takedown attempts were abysmal. In boxing, you are deducted a point if you abuse the clinch. UFC needs to penalize fighters who stall for an entire rd. They are not using effective aggression. You must score by who is being defensively responsible+inflicting dmg.
— Alessi (@AJSalazar2) March 10, 2025
Failed takedowns should be negatively scored. Stuffed takedowns should be positively scored.
— TooLateBlue (@TooLateBlue) March 9, 2025
Absolutely. Defense should be rewarded.
— Joel Hemingway (@JoelHemingway85) March 9, 2025
If a successful takedown is an advantage, then stopping take down should be their disadvantage. At least that way they will choose carefully when to take someone down instead of just spamming it
— Badd (@Badd_Attitude_) March 9, 2025
Fans also argued that failed takedown attempts should have influenced Ankalaev’s points as defending then didn’t benefit Pereira. There was also a proposal of negative and positive points for failed takedowns and takedown defense. Some mentioned that MMA should change its rules around this in order to protect fighters from wrestling-centric opponents.
UFC legend opinion on takedown attempts and control time
In the UFC, fighters from different disciplines come to the UFC and have the potential to become champions. Alex Pereira is a former kickboxer who found huge success in the UFC. Fighters such as Khabib Nurmagomedov have also become champions using their wrestling-heavy style.
While most UFC fans like knockouts and striking, wrestling and ground control is often frowned upon. The rules of the sport are in such a way that it has mostly helped wrestlers who prefer to control their opponents without looking for finishes. However, Joe Rogan doesn’t believe in this narrative.
If a guy can take you down and can hold you down, tough shi*. In every sense. Even pressed up against the cage. People say it’s boring, at any moment someone could do a spinning elbow.
Joe Rogan via JRE
During the Pereira vs. In The Magomed Ankalaev fight, the referee had to separate both fighters while the Russian was trying to clinch. Many other fighters such as Belal Muhammad and Merab Dvalishvili have also been accused of using excessive control time and making fights boring. It would be interesting to see if UFC makes any changes in rules going forward.
Related: 10 Best Triangle Choke finishes in the history of UFC
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