The mixed martial arts community remains largely unconvinced by Magomed Ankalaev`s recent efforts to clarify a persistent rumor.
As Ankalaev intensifies his preparations for UFC 320 on October 4th, he faces his inaugural light heavyweight title defense. Having previously overcome Alex Pereira at UFC 313, the champion must once again secure victory in Las Vegas to solidify his reign.
Leading up to this highly anticipated rematch, the light heavyweight champion has notably ramped up his pre-fight verbal exchanges. This increased trash talk seems to have agitated Pereira, who has also responded with an unusual amount of pre-bout jabs. However, a significant question lingers: is Ankalaev truly the author behind these contentious messages?
Ankalaev Addresses Rumors, Insisting He Manages His Own Social Media
Magomed Ankalaev is managed by Ali Abdelaziz, the CEO of Dominance MMA. Abdelaziz has faced longstanding accusations of managing the social media presence for many of his high-profile fighters, including Khabib Nurmagomedov and Islam Makhachev.
Due to Ankalaev`s acknowledged limited English proficiency and the recent surge in his aggressive online rhetoric aimed at Pereira leading up to the October 4th pay-per-view, many fans quickly assumed Abdelaziz was the true source of these posts. In an attempt to quell these suspicions, Ankalaev recently posted a denial of his manager`s involvement.
He stated, “Just for all the fans out there, for the last two months I make my own tweets.” Adding humor, he continued, “Chat GPT and Google Translator is the best.” However, this clarification itself raised further skepticism among the online community, prompting the same question: was this specific message truly from Ankalaev?
Fans Remain Unswayed, Firmly Believing Ali Abdelaziz is Still Ghostwriting Posts
The fan reaction was swift and overwhelmingly dismissive, indicating that Ankalaev has much more work to do to convince his audience. The predominant sentiment among commenters was a strong reaffirmation of their belief that Abdelaziz continues to manage his fighter`s social media output.
Comments flooded in, largely directed at Ali Abdelaziz, with users posting variations of “Ali, Ali…come on, now. We know it’s you,” “Liar liar pants on fire,” and “Lmao, the tweets and the way you are in real life don’t match at all bro. But Ali’s personality and the tweets match.” Many echoed, “We know it’s you Ali” and “No one’s buying this Ali.” Another fan remarked, “Ali has been running this account since March,” while others noted, “C’mon man, Ali still has your login details and sends post on your behalf disguised as You. The tone is different. Good to hear some of the posts are yours though.” The skepticism was rounded off with “Nice try Ali.”
