“He’s trolling”—Fans laugh as Magomed Ankalaev says the easiest way to beat Alex Pereira is wrestling

Things got heated at the UFC 313 pre-fight conference on Thursday as main event fighters Alex Pereira and Magomed Ankalaev engaged in a tense staredown. Pereira looks to defend his light heavyweight title for the fourth time, while Ankalaev aims to claim it for the first time in their upcoming fight this Saturday, March 8th.

A day before the press conference, when asked about the keys to beating Alex Pereira, Magomed Ankalaev replied, “There's lots of keys, but the easiest way is wrestling.” The response has since gone viral, with fans either applauding his confidence or mocking it.

Fans seemed to take quick notice and added hilarity to the situation with their comments.

"He’s trolling," claimed a user.

---

Hilarious Fan Reactions

Fans couldn’t help but laugh at Magomed Ankalaev’s response. Let’s check out some of the most hilarious reactions.

Many users across the platform are convinced that Magomed Ankalaev is just trolling at this point with his bold claims, such as beating Alex Pereira in wrestling. A classic trash talk tactic to intimidate the opponent and end up building more hype for the upcoming fight.

"Except he’s a mediocre wrestler. Too bad so sad," pointed out another.

Looks like this user isn’t too convinced by Ankalaev’s wrestling skills. If his wrestling isn’t as good as he claims, maybe he should rethink saying he can outwrestle Pereira, unless he wants to become an internet meme.

Here is what a user thinks the outcome will be (via @The_Jab_Lab/X).

Most UFC fans are convinced Alex Pereira will easily defend his light heavyweight title against Magomed Ankalaev. This user takes it a step further, hilariously predicting a 20-second knockout, complete with a video showing just how the fight might go down.

"Theres a lot of keys YEAH OK," mocked a user.

Magomed Ankalaev claimed there are many keys to beating Alex Pereira, but Pereira fans disagree, as they believe the only key is if the champion doesn’t show up to the fight.

"The easiest way - as if there is one," another wrote.

That’s a bold claim from Ankalaev, assuming easy ways exist to beat Pereira, because fans certainly don’t think so. To them, there’s no easy way to take down the champ.

Uh-oh! Busted! This user just reminded everyone of Ankalaev’s earlier claim that he wouldn’t even need wrestling to beat Pereira. So which is it, Mr. Ankalaev? (via @ImJustAustin01/X)

---

The highly anticipated showdown between Alex Pereira and Magomed Ankalaev has fans on edge, with just one day to go until the big fight. So which of the two fighters are you betting on?