It was now or by no means for Magomed Ankalaev.
Emanating from T-Cell Area, Ankalaev will lastly get a crack at reigning gentle heavyweight champion Alex Pereira when the 2 headline this Saturday’s UFC 313 pay-per-view in Las Vegas.
It’s been greater than three years because the final time he had an opportunity to take dwelling a UFC title. Working his manner again to the highest of the division with wins over Johnny Walker and Aleksandar Rakić in his final two outings, Ankalaev knew that if alternative knocked once more, he’d should reply.
Consequently, the 32-year-old Dagestani fighter shall be combating in the midst of Ramadan — a call he didn’t take flippantly.
“Obviously, it’s not a good thing to fight during Ramadan,” Ankalaev informed MMAMania.com. “This is the holiest of holy months for us. This is the month when we spend more time in a mosque, we pray more, we praise the lord more. But this is an opportunity we could not let go of because if we did not take this fight, we wouldn’t know the next time this opportunity would happen. So, obviously, it’s not ideal, but this is the type of opportunity we have to take now.”
Will observing Ramadan influence Magomed Ankalaev’s means to make weight?
For these unfamiliar, Ramadan is the holiest month of the 12 months for Muslims. In accordance with the Islamic Community Group, “Muslims commemorate the revelation of the Qur’an, and fast from food and drink during the sunlit hours as a means of drawing closer to God and cultivating self-control, gratitude, and compassion for those less fortunate.”
Ramadan runs from Feb 28, 2025, by means of Sat, Mar 29, 2025.
Whereas present UFC welterweight champion Belal Muhammad has each skilled and fought throughout Ramadan, most Muslim fighters select to not compete as a result of sacrifices it takes — notably when reducing weight. However regardless of the sacrifice, Ankalaev goes to do every part he can to go away ‘Sin City’ as the brand new king of the 205-pound division.
In any case, who is aware of when or if he’ll ever get this shot once more?
“A lot of emotions,” Ankalaev stated. “Waiting is the worst thing you can do. You just sit there and you wait. Obviously there was a little bit of frustration going on, but we’ve been asking for this and waiting for this. It’s just been a long time, but now we finally got this opportunity and that’s behind us. We’re going to do whatever we can to make sure to get this victory.”
