Alex Pereira is upping the stakes ahead of his UFC 313 title bout with Magomed Ankalaev in Las Vegas, challenging the Dagestani and his manager Ali Abdelaziz to a six-figure bet.
Entering the octagon looking for his fourth defense of the light heavyweight title March 8 at the T-Mobile Arena, “Poatan” took on social media Sunday night to issue a challenge to Ankalaev and bet $200,000 on his win, with the loser donating the amount to charity.
“I’m betting $200,000 to donate to children in need, children with cancer,” Pereira said in a video posted on social media. “Many people are in need of this help. Since Ali and Ankalaev seem to be 100 percent confident that they’ll beat me, I think they will accept this challenge.”
Pereira asked fans to tag Ankalaev and Abdelaziz in comments, adding that the top-ranked Dagestani can choose a charity cause in his home country and Pereira will make the donation directly to the organization in case of defeat at UFC 313.
“Let’s see if they really accept this challenge because the are 100 percent sure they will win, they gotta bet,” Pereira said. “They have to.”
Undefeated since moving up to light heavyweight in July 2023 and victorious in his past five bouts, the Brazilian talent said that offering that bet isn’t saying he’s absolutely certain of victory, but challenging Ankalaev to put money where his mouth is.
“I am a very grounded person conscious of everything I say,” Pereira said. “In all my interviews with everyone I’ve fought I always go with the will to win, I want to win, but I don’t know if I will win. Either way, with such thinking, I wanna bet $200,000. It doesn’t matter, gotta see with Ankalaev and his manager. If someone wants to sponsor him the $200,000 and put it in his name to make the bet, that’s no problem for me. The $200,000 I’ll give [comes] from my pocket.
“If I’ll win, I do not know. I truly want to win. I can lose, but many people in need will win. Those with cancer, with certainty that will help them a lot. So I leave here this challenge to Ankalaev and his manager Ali.”
Ankalaev responded to the bet on Twitter: “SalamuAlaykum we will answer tomorrow, Ramadan Mubarak.”
Check the full video below.
UPDATE: Ankalaev and his team have expanded on their response, suggesting the fighters work together after the fight to figure out how to make the best charitable use of their resources.
