Magomed Ankalaev ‘pleaded’ with UFC to face Alex Pereira after Ramadan

Fighting during Ramadan is far from ideal for Magomed Ankalaev.

Ankalaev (20-1-1 MMA, 11-1-1 UFC) challenges UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira (12-2 MMA, 9-1 UFC) in Saturday’s UFC 313 main event at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas (ESPN+ pay-per-view, ESPNews/Disney+, ESPN+).

Ankalaev revealed that he tried to have his title fight moved to after Ramadan, but to no avail. He ultimately decided to fight during the holy month not to lose out on the big opportunity.

“It was a really difficult decision, and we kind of pleaded with the UFC a little bit that maybe there’s a possibility to hold it, and then move it to a different date and keep me as the No. 1 contender,” Ankalaev told Sky Sports New Zealand. “However, that is the decision they made.

“We as a team had to make sure to understand that this is the type of opportunity that we’ve been after for so long, and for now to let it go would have been not a good choice. So we decided that even though it is the holy month for us, that we have to jump on this opportunity and do the best with what we have.”

Ankalaev explained that Ramadan, a month in which Muslims are required to fast from dawn until sunset without food or water, is a time when he prefers to reflect and spend time with family, not fight.

“It’s not a problem that the fight is happening,” Ankalaev said. “The problem is that it’s during Ramadan. In this month, we’re not to fight, we are to worship. We’re to praise Allah. We’re not there to do any of these activities that we usually do for a regular camp or regular fight.

“So the biggest issue is that we have to kind of adjust our schedule. This is something that we do as athletes. This is the kind of opportunity you can’t pass up. The UFC decided that this is when the fight has to happen, and we had to go ahead and jump on this.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 313.