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 hav