UFC 308 results: Magomed Ankalaev sends a message to Alex Pereira after decision win over Aleksandar Rakic

Magomed Ankalaev continued his unbeaten streak with a decision win over Aleksandar Rakic ​​at UFC 308 and now hopes he has finally caught the attention of Alex Pereira.

Over three rounds, Ankalaev showed he was the superior striker by continuing to pummel Rakic ​​and trying to set up a possible fight-ending sequence. The knockout never came, but Ankalaev kept Rakic ​​engaged throughout the fight as he cruised to victory with all three judges scoring the fight 29-28 in his favor.

“I kept running after him, but it was really hard to catch up with him,” Ankalaev said of his performance. “I don't want to say anything bad about him, but I didn't understand his swing at all. A very unpleasant opponent for me.”

The massive light heavyweights exchanged some huge, heavy kicks early on, with both trying to find a way to do maximum damage. Ankalaev marched forward and closed the distance on the taller fighter, but Rakic ​​did a good job of keeping him honest, throwing in a few well-timed, straight punches and adding more of those long, wide kicks.

While Rakic ​​kept throwing headbutts, Ankalaev showed good hand speed and strength in boxing as he continued to lead the dance. Ankaleav continued to stab Rakic ​​with various punches, including a hard shot to the body that definitely caught his opponent's attention.

Ankalaev really started mixing up his punches, throwing a straight punch to the right and the following one with a deft uppercut to the left. As time went on, Rakic ​​got stuck in defense and Ankalaev really found his rhythm on the feet.

With less than a minute to go in the second round, Ankalaev hit Rakic ​​in the face with a nasty straight left to the middle. Rakic ​​kept throwing him back, but Ankalaev began to really control the proceedings with his superior punch.

Ankalaev kept his foot on the gas pedal, moving forward and releasing more and more of his straight left hands, which kept finding purchase on Rakic's chin. As time ticked down until the final whistle, Ankalaev continued to punish Rakic ​​from the inside with heavy punches and knee strikes as he did more than enough to ensure he would leave Abu Dhabi with a win.

After his last performance in which he remained undefeated for 13 fights in a row, Ankalaev wasted no time in turning his attention to the UFC light heavyweight champion in the hope that his next shot at the title will come in 2025.

“I think I did everything to deserve the next title shot,” Ankalaev said. “I would like to tell Alex to stop running from me. Alex, stop running from me.”