Magomed Ankalaev Releases His First Statement Since Losing The UFC Light Heavyweight Title At UFC 320

Magomed Ankalaev has released his first statement since his shocking loss. 

Coming in, there was a lot of momentum in the former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion’s favor as Ankalaev walked in with an incredible 12 fight winning streak that saw some of those wins coming over Aleksandar Rakić, Thiago Santos, and his UFC 320 opponent, Alex Pereira. But that was shattered on Saturday night when Pereira had an answer to all of the mistakes he made at UFC 313.

In 80 seconds, Pereira smashed Ankalaev and won back the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship. You could cut the tension with a knife between those two as the new 205-pound champion didn’t seem to have any respect for the man that he just beat.

Nevertheless, it didn’t take long for Ankalaev to address his recent UFC title loss and he makes it clear that this isn’t the end of the road for him. 

“If Allah tested me with defeat, then He wants to toughen me.

“I bow to His will, but not to difficulties.

“To those who stayed - thank you.

“To those who turned out, thank you too.

“After all, Allah clears the way not only of weakness, but also of unnecessary people.”

Magomed Ankalaev released a statement following his loss to Alex Pereira last night:

"If Allah tested me with defeat, it means he wants to strengthen me. I bow to his will, but not to difficulties.

To those who stayed by my side - thank you.

Thank you also to those who turned… pic.twitter.com/rY6c9tcvV6

— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) October 5, 2025

Where does Magomed Ankalev go from here?

That’s unknown at the moment. Both Ankalaev and Pereira own one victory over one another so a conclusion to their rivalry would be natural, but given how easily Ankalaev was beaten at UFC 320 then it’s unlikely Dana White ventures back to this bout anytime soon. 

White wasn’t particularly a fan of their bout at UFC 313, but he ran it back because it was a rather close match-up between the two, though he did agree with the judges on handing over the win to Ankalaev. Of course, we have to wait on the medical suspension news first. On the surface, Ankalaev didn’t seem to suffer too much damage, but an official report has yet to be released. 

It should be interesting to see who Ankalaev fights next. Pereira is already teasing a bout against Jon Jones so he’s clearly moved on, but if that’s the case, will there be a vacant UFC Light Heavyweight title in the coming months? Only time will tell.