Magomed Ankalaev believes he deserves to fight for the UFC light heavyweight title after his stoppage win against Johnny Walker at UFC Vegas 84.
Ankalaev and Walker first faced off at UFC 294, where their fight ended in a no-contest due to an illegal knee that prevented Walker from continuing. They settled their rivalry at UFC Vegas 84, where the Dagestani secured the win with a well-aimed right hand followed by an uppercut that crushed the Brazilian’s nose.
Currently, on a 12-fight unbeaten run, Ankalaev believes he deserves to fight for the belt over former champion Jamahal Hill, who vacated his belt due to injury and is next in the line to fight reigning champ Pereira, according to Dana White.
The Russian doesn’t like that.
“I think here the math works out, the way that I’m more deserving of the belt because I have 10 victories, six of them knockouts, and Jamahal Hill has eight fights total in the UFC,” Ankalaev said during the post-fight press conference. “So it’s just clear that I’m a more deserving contender than Jamahal Hill.
“So if I get to fight against Pereira, I think we’re going to have a great fight. It’s going to be a firefight, it’s going to be an exciting fight, and we’re going to do our job and I’m going to get my title back because I’m already feeling like a champion.”
Hill won the belt at UFC 283, where he defeated Glover Teixeira by a decision. However, he vacated his belt in late 2023 due to a knee injury. As a result, the UFC booked a vacant title fight between Pereira and Jiri Prochazka at UFC 295, where the Brazilian won by second-round TKO.
Magomed Ankalaev or Jamahal Hill, who deserves a title shot more?
