Magomed Ankalaev has received some extremely high praise from Khabib Nurmagomedov ahead of his upcoming title fight.
This coming Saturday, the premier promotion returns to the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas for UFC 320, as Magomed Ankalaev defends his light heavyweight title against Alex Pereira in the main event.
The Russian dethroned ‘Poatan’ earlier this year at UFC 313 in what was a surprising performance from Pereira, who recently claimed he was only at 40% for the fight due to injuries.
And ahead of their anticipated rematch, Pereira and Ankalaev have had an awkward run-in at the UFC Performance Institute which resulted in Pereira labelling the Russian a ‘coward’.
Magomed Ankalaev given extremely high praise by Khabib Nurmagomedov
The 33-year-old is just one of two Russian champions currently dominating in the UFC, with Khamzat Chimaev being the other.
However, Russia has been rapidly taking over as the most dominant nation in combat sports over the last decade, and former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov was one of the spearheads for that.
Not only that, but ‘The Eagle’ is widely regarded as the greatest Russian UFC fighter of all time, retiring from the sport with a flawless record, even though it was disputed by Joe Rogan.
And since his retirement from the sport in 2020, Khabib has continued to leave his mark, transitioning into coaching where he has become one of the best coaches in the game.
Ahead of Ankalaev’s fight against the popular Pereira, Nurmagomedov has given his fellow countryman extremely high praise, claiming he is one of the greatest Russian fighters ever.
“He is one of the best to ever do it in Russia, already, and he keeps improving himself and keeps climbing on top to be the best to ever do it. I really believe he has the skills (to become the best Russian fighter ever),” Khabib admitted.
The aforementioned Chimaev could also continue to work his way towards the top of being one of the greatest Russian fighters ever, as he continues to showcase his dominance in the sport.
Ankalaev vows to produce ‘something special’ at UFC 320
Ahead of his first fight against ‘Poatan’, Ankalaev claimed that he was going to stand and strike with the dominant kickboxer, which raised a few eyebrows in the MMA world.
However, he went on to dominate Pereira on the feet, showing his own standup skills.
And ahead of their rematch on Saturday night, Ankalaev has vowed to produce ‘something special’.
“Be ready to witness something special, no excuse, all or nothing,” he said in a post on X.