Ankalaev wants Costa despite third rejection

Magomed Ankalaev still wants Paulo Costa next

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Magomed Ankalaev has explained why he absolutely wants to face Paulo Costa in his next fight.

Magomed Ankalaev last fought in July against Bogdan Guskov and defeated him in the main event via TKO in the fifth round. Paulo Costa, on the other hand, is in a completely different league. He’s coming off a spectacular KO victory over Azamat Murzakanov at the UFC 327 event in April. The UFC had already asked Paulo Costa once, following the withdrawal of Khalil Rountree Jr., if he’d be willing to step in to face Magomed Ankalaev, but he simply said he’d prefer to have more time to prepare for such a big fight.

Magomed Ankalaev probably wasn’t too thrilled about that. He stated on his social media channels that he definitely wants to face Paulo Costa, while still showing him great respect.

“The reason I want to fight Paulo Costa is not because he is an easy fight, he’s a great competitor and I want to test my skills against his skills. None of this is personal”

he wrote. he said.

Based on the UFC rankings, this fight would actually make a lot of sense. Magomed Ankalaev is ranked third, while Paulo Costa is ranked fourth. The only problem is that Magomed Ankalaev has already posted on social media that Paulo Costa has allegedly turned down the fight for the third time, and that the matchup won’t happen for now.

“I was being told by my team today that Paulo Costa turned down a fight with me for the THIRD time now, I would turn the fight against me also”

he wrote.

I think it's a bit of a shame because I think it could be a really good matchup. Plus, there seems to be a lot of mutual respect among the fighters here, which is never a bad thing in a matchup. However, if the UFC doesn't schedule the fight, we probably won't get to see it.