Mar 8, 2025; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Alex Pereira (red gloves) fights Magomed Ankalaev (blue gloves) during UFC 313 at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

Magomed Ankalaev's coach sees no threat in Alex Pereira's striking.

Light heavyweight champion Ankalaev (21-1-1 MMA, 12-1-1 UFC) runs things back with Pereira (12-3 MMA, 9-2 UFC) in Saturday's UFC 320 (pay-per-view, FX/ESPNews/Disney+, ESPN+) headliner at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Ankalaev proved more than capable of standing with former two-division Glory Kickboxing champion Pereira after failing on all 12 of his takedown attempts, but still outstriking him in a unanimous decision win at UFC 313. His head coach, Sukhrab Magomedov, dismissed "Poatan's" biggest weapon ahead of their rematch.

"Alex Pereira – there's nothing with which he can surprise us," Magomedov said on UFC Countdown. "Not with his work in the standup. In wrestling, he definitely cannot surprise. He cannot surprise us with anything. His technique is standard. His strikes are standard.

"He's an old kickboxer. He has no speed. Powerful punch? Alex, he has a punch – but not the kind that can really knock you out. And I tell everyone: If Magomed opens up, he'll surprise everyone and can even outplay, in pure standup, a better striker than Alex Pereira."

However, statistics prove that Pereira certainly has knockout power after finishing the likes of Israel Adesanya, Sean Strickland, Jiri Prochazka, Jamahal Hill and Khalil Rountree in the UFC.

This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Magomed Ankalaev's coach: Alex Pereira doesn't have power that can really knock you out

Reporting by Farah Hannoun, MMA Junkie / MMA Junkie

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