“Big Ank 🤝Big Tom.” Not everyone expected Magomed Ankalaev to shake hands with Tom Aspinall soon after he defeated Alex Pereira and won the light heavyweight championship belt at UFC 313. Not only that, but the Russian champ also took a jibe at Jon Jones for seemingly ducking Aspinall. And the UFC interim heavyweight champion stepped up with a handshake emoji to mark the beginning of a new friendship. But that wasn’t the only support Aspinall provided for Ankalaev. 

During a conversation with Jamal Naiz on 16 March 2025, Aspinall decided to rub some salt on Pereira’s wounds. He claimed, “I think that Ankalaev just had him guessing a lot.” The Britisher was indeed talking about Ankalaev playing around with his grappling skills. Aspinall continued, “I think Pereira’s level on the ground, I don’t know what level he’s at, but I think he’s still a bit wary of getting taken down. He definitely defended the takedowns well, but me with an educated eye watching it, I don’t think Ankalaev was really trying to take him down that much.”

According to the interim heavyweight champion, Ankalaev made 10-11 takedown attempts. But only 2 or 3 of them were right on point. And the rest of the time, the Russian seemed to be draining ‘Poatan’ with his grappling. Aspinall concluded, “So. I think Ankalaev had the perfect game plan. He didn’t overcommit, tired him out.” The Englishman took a jibe at everyone who believed Pereira won, or that the fight was boring. According to him, both the LHWs did pretty well. He said, “It was just wild to me that how many uneducated fans are out there. And how many uneducated fans thought it was a boring fight as well.” But there could be only one winner. Aspinall claimed, “I think that Ankalaev was just a lot better than him on the night. That’s it.”

But does that mean that Alex Pereira won’t get to move up to the heavyweight division anymore? Well, Tom Aspinall doesn’t really have a say on that. When asked about it, he simply quoted, “No. I don’t know. But he can do whatever he wants, can’t he? He’s a megastar.” But Aspinall knew the real reason behind Pereira’s defeat. And Firas Zahabi, the owner and head coach of Tristar Gym, agreed with Aspinall. Let’s see what the MMA coach and Aspinall had to say about UFC 313. 

MMA coach points out why Magomed Ankalaev beat Alex Pereira at UFC 313

Taking to the gym’s YouTube channel, Firas Zahabi revealed his theory on why Ankalaev won against Pereira. He said, “[Alex] Pereira was hesitant. After round one, he was hesitant. He got stunned in round one and ever since he got stunned, he was hesitant. Now I have my idea why I think he was hesitant. One, he was worried about the takedown. He didn’t want to get taken down. It was on his mind when he got stunned. Now he’s worried about the striking and the takedowns.”

According to the coach, the man with the hands of stone was trying to predict Ankalaev’s movements throughout the bout – “paralysis by analysis” as he called it. Zahabi knew pretty well how hard it was to predict one’s opponent in order to send them down with a perfect strike. But it became nigh on impossible for ‘Poatan’ with Ankalaev’s unpredictable movements. He concluded that the Russian was indeed more unpredictable than Pereira at UFC 313.

Zahabi’s feelings were reciprocated by many, and Aspinall was one of them. Following the war at UFC 313, Aspinall took to his YouTube channel and weighed in on the main event. He believed, “The key to winning for Ankalaev, in my opinion, he wanted it more, pressure; he looked the fresher man, mixing in the takedowns and the striking beautifully. I wasn’t sure if he’d do that, to be honest.” And the fighting community apparently saw that coming, too. While Ankalaev shared visuals of his training on social media, Pereira was dancing around and partying. 

But before the rematch, we might get to witness the war between Aspinall and Jon Jones. Well, Dana White recently announced that the bout would happen sometime in Summer 2025. And Ankalaev also stood up in favor of that notion. Taking to X, he dissed Jones for seemingly running away from Aspinall. And that made the friendship between Ankalaev and Aspinall turn a bit stronger. 

What are your thoughts on Aspinall’s verdict regarding Pereira’s loss at UFC 313? Do you think ‘Poatan’ can win in a rematch? Let us know what you think in the comments down below.