UFC 320 headliners Alex Pereira and light heavyweight champion Magomed Ankalaev found an inventive way to keep their trash talk going when they met ahead of their rematch, scheduled for Saturday, the 4th of October at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
In their first meeting at UFC 313, Magomed Ankalaev dethroned Alex Pereira by unanimous decision (49-46, 48-47, 48-47), using takedowns, control, and strategic pressure to neutralize Pereira’s power.
Now, in little more than one week, everything is on the line once again. For Ankalaev, it’s a chance to cement his legitimacy as a credible champion, while Pereira wants to adapt and reclaim his crown. A win for the Brazilian would reset the division and put him back in control of his future, with super fights on the horizon against the likes of Khamzat Chimaev or Tom Aspinall. For Ankalaev, meanwhile, it would be confirmation that his title win earlier this year was no fluke.
The stakes did not seem to be lost on one another as they ran into each other at the UFC’s Performance Institute in Las Vegas, and had to use Google Translate to understand their trash talk.
Ankalaev & Pereira Use Google Translate to Keep Trash Talk Going
It is unclear what they said to one another, though the House of Fight channel on X, which posted the interaction, said Ankalaev told Pereira that he keeps “throwing words around” and that they should “settle it in the Octagon.”
Pereira replied: “I never said anything, they’re the ones who are always talking. And now when he shows up in front of me.”
Though they’ve fought once already this year, there has been no love lost between the fighters as Ankalaev was vocal throughout the summer that Pereira was refusing, if not just delaying, to fight him. The Russian has also referred to Pereira as a “clown.”
Pereira, meanwhile, has suggested he’ll finish their “story” atop the UFC 320 card on ESPN pay-per-view.
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