On the UFC 313, Magomed Ankalaev went down in the history of Russian mixed martial arts, becoming the fourth champion of the best league of the world from our country. In a heavy battle, he defeated Alex Pereyer. The judges preferred Ankalaev, who took the three rounds out of five thanks to the struggle.

That’s just the Brazilian who frankly failed that evening refuses to recognize the defeat. And before the desired revenge said that it would be nice to change the rules for counting glasses. Otherwise, success, following this logic, cannot be seen.

Old dispute

The duel of Pereyra and Ankalaev turned out to be quite boring. Both fighters acted passively, without inflicting many strokes in the rack. The athletes understood that there was a lot of things at stake, and the risks for attempts to aggravate the situation would be too large.

Nevertheless, it was the Russian that took the initiative into his own hands. Starting from the second round, he began to work as the first number, throw more blows and constantly put pressure on the opponent. Magomed has never been able to transfer Alex to the flooring, but the control of the grid amounted to almost six minutes for the entire duel. Pereira, in turn, only defended himself and could not offer anything to Ankalaev. It is not surprising that the judges gave the victory to the applicant, who made much more in the octagon.

Magomed Ankalaev and Alex Pereira / Photo: © Jeff Bottari / Contributor / UFC / Gettyimages.ru

For Pereyra, this defeat was the first in the weight of the UFC, which was great to hit the pride. After the battle, the former champion gave an interview to American journalist Ariel Helvani and said that he did not agree with the decision of the judges.

The Brazilian began to cling to the closest rounds, where the advantage of Ankalaev was not so obvious. Alex said that he took the first, third and fifth segments. In addition, he made a rationalization proposal.

– I think we should change the rules. When one fighter presses the other to the grid, he must apply him damage, but Ankalaev did nothing, – Pereira thinks.

In fact, the dispute about how to evaluate passive control has been going on for a long time. Many fans and journalists believe that you should not give preference to a fighter who simply presses the opponent to the grid, without inflicting significant blows and not trying to go out.

But in the UFC, the judges in the cage usually separate the clinch when they see that no activity from the fighters comes. If Ankalaev was allowed to hold Pereyra for a long time, then control was not passive. At least this was not perceived by a professional referee.

The position of the fans is understandable: the duel does not bring spectacles without a large number of blows and amplitude throws, so you should not encourage fighters for passive control, stimulating those to change the style. But precisely fans, but not losing fighters, have the right to such an opinion.

Alex Pereira and Magomed Ankalaev / Photo: © Ian Maule / Stringer / Getty Images Sport / Gettyimages.ru

If Pereira says that you should not evaluate the struggle of Ankalaev, then how to set points for rounds? Magomed at least attacked and controlled his opponent, while Alex could not show anything at all, except for protection against Takedaunes. He threw out fewer strokes, did not inflict any damage to the opponent and literally left the battle. Why should he give victory?

To complain about the rules and passivity of the Russian means signing in their own helplessness. To devalue the efforts of the opponent who neutralized you is simply ugly.

By the way, in the same interview, Pereira proudly said that he did not let Ankalaev translate himself, thereby, they say, demonstrating a cool struggle. However, criticism of the Brazilian decision of judges proves the opposite. The call to change the rules after you could not contrast anything with the usual control of the grid, it imposes that there are still problems with the struggle of Pereira.

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