Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) wanted newly-crowned light heavyweight champion, Magomed Ankalaev, to defend his 205-pound title at the upcoming UFC 317 pay-per-view (PPV) event, which takes place during International Fight Week next month in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The logical choices for “Big Ank” were former champions Jiri Prochazka and Alex Pereira; however, both combatants were forced to decline for different reasons. “BJP” pulled the Thornton Melon card and went back to school, while “Poatan” is off battling evil hackers with his X password.
“Guys, is there anyone in the Light Heavyweight division who’s willing to fight me?” Ankalaev wrote on social media. “Alex Pereira don’t want the Ank anymore. Let’s leave him alone because I’m not a bully. Fake ninja he said he have to go back to school because he cannot read. Dana White, Mick Maynard, give me some fish.”
Former UFC lightweight, Josh Thomson, has been playing matchmaker on YouTube.
“What you have is Jamahal Hill coming off a loss, Jan Blachowicz coming off a loss, Aleksandar Rakic coming off a loss, Khalil Rountree Jr. coming off a loss,” Thomson said. “Dominick Reyes is number eight, he’s got a win. You’ve got Carlos Ulberg, that’s it, at number three. You have Jiri but Jiri can’t fight. I mean, throw, I would say Ulberg, put him in there, see if Ankalaev will stand with him as well. Let’s see, like, there’s nothing else you can do. I mean, we’re looking for that guy to bring an exciting fight to Ankalaev because right now, good luck trying to sell that.”
Ankalaev has a reputation for turning in “boring” fights that force fans to “zone out.”
Ulberg jumped to No. 3 in the official UFC rankings after outworking Jan Blachowicz as part of the UFC London fight card back in March. The once-beaten Kiwi, who turns 35 in just a few months, blasted his way into the promotion by way of Dana White’s “Contender Series” back in late 2020.
Since then, “Black Jag” is 8-1 with five finishes, four by way of knockout/technical knockout.
The resurgent Reyes, 35, got back into title contention by winning his last three fights. That said, knockout losses to former champions, Prochazka and Blachowicz, could hurt his chances if the decision comes down to Reyes and Ulberg. Hopefully the promotion can figure that out sooner, rather than later.
