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The tension between Pereira and Abdelaziz started leading up to UFC 320. Pereira looked to regain his title from Magomed Ankalaev, who is managed by Abdelaziz. Pereira and Ankalaev had multiple confrontations, following which the Brazilian blamed Abdelaziz for the feud. Pereira repeatedly accused Abdelaziz of trying to steal the limelight. “Poatan” took just 80 seconds to drop Ankalaev and finish him with elbows. Pereira then did his signature “Khaby Lame” impression in front of a fallen Ankalaev. Pereira also went on to take a dig at Abdelaziz. Pereira posted a picture where Abdelaziz appears to be smiling while he beats on Ankalaev. The Brazilian warned fighters against managers who have never been fighters and try to gain clout through their athletes.
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“When a manager has never been an athlete and wants to promote to gain fame and money, but you’re the one in there risking your life, and he’s outside laughing,” Pereira wrote.
Alex Pereira just WENT OFF on Ali Abdelaziz 😳
“When a manager has never been an athlete and wants to promote to gain fame and money, but you’re the one in there risking your life, and he’s outside laughing.” #UFC320 pic.twitter.com/bB5kuHkClg
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) October 5, 2025
Abdelaziz has since responded to Pereira, claiming that he has no personal feud with the new champ. According to Abdelaziz, everything on Ankalaev’s social media was said with the Russian’s approval. Abdelaziz further said that some trash talk in the fight business shouldn’t be taken personally. He further dismissed Pereira’s accusations of having no combat sport experience, citing his black belts in judo and jiu-jitsu.
Manager Claims Ankalaev Was Not 100 Percent at UFC 320
Abdelaziz also hinted that Ankalaev was not 100% going into UFC 320. According to Abdelaziz, he wouldn’t have let Ankalaev fight if it were up to him. The Dominance MMA chief lastly slammed fans who don’t like fighters with wrestling heavy approach from the Caucasus region.
“Saturday night, Magomed Ankalaev fought Alex Pereira. In the rematch, and Alex Pereira won. Congratulations to him and his team,” Abdelaziz wrote. “I know his coaches, managers, and always show them respect. I don’t know Alex personally. But, I am Team Magomed Ankalaev. Whatever I can do to help him, I will do it. As long as I don’t insult someone’s family, religion, or his nation. Everything Ankalaev said on his social media, he approved it. And if I did help him, it was his knowledge. But, at the end of the day, we are in a fighting business. As long as no one speaks about you in a bad way, or your family, or your nation. “About me doing sports or not doing sports, this is irrelevant. But, I have two black belts in judo and jiu-jitsu under Master Renzo Gracie. And I also competed in judo and MMA. But, in reality, this is not about me and Alex. This is about Magomed Ankalaev and Alex. Alex was the best man on Saturday night. And we take our losses like men. We move on. I don’t have any problems with Alex. I respect everything he accomplished. There’s a lot of things happened with Ankalaev in his camp. But, it’s for him to talk about. Not me. And if I need to talk about it, I will talk about it. If it was up to me, he should never have fought due to some things. But he’s a grown man, he makes his own decisions, and he lives by his actions. Congratulations to Alex and his team. And for all the sorry-ass fan, every time somebody from the Caucasus region, or the Middle East, Dagestan, Chechnya, get a UFC title, they all freak out. You win some and you lose some. That’s part of this game. Alhumdullalah for everything.”
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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