Magomed Ankalaev has opened up on losing his father as a teenager and how he had to immediately provide for his family.
Now, the 32-year-old Russian is gearing up for the biggest fight of his career, as he takes on Alex Pereira with light heavyweight gold on the line.
Ankalaev will stand toe-to-toe at UFC 313 in Las Vegas this weekend for the chance to become the new king at 205lbs, with so much on the line for both men.
Speaking on the UFC 313 Countdown ahead of his title fight with Pereira, Ankalaev opened up about how his father’s passing triggered a grafter mindset that has been instilled in him ever since.
“I was born in the Shamilsky District, in the village of Teletl’,” he said.
“High in the mountains of Dagestan. I was in the ninth or tenth grade and I lost my father.
“That was the most difficult age for me, when you really need a father’s support.
“Since the man is the eldest in the family, it turned out that I was the man.
“And I had to work much harder for my family, to support them.”
Ankalaev then revealed how ‘something opened up’ when he first started to train in combat sambo around 2012, when he was just 20-years-old.
“The Russian Union of Mixed Martial Arts appeared,” he added.
“And from that moment on, I switched to mixed martial arts and I started succeeding.”
After losing his first three bouts as an amateur, Ankalaev embarked on an 18-fight winning streak before signing with the UFC.
It was during this time the Russian realised he could make money by fighting and made his one and only goal to become a UFC champion.
Although Ankalaev suffered a defeat on his UFC debut, losing to Scotland’s Paul Craig via third-round submission, he flipped the script again by winning nine fights in a row to earn his first shot at gold.
He challenged Jan Blachowicz at UFC 282 in December 2022, after the champion at the time Jiri Prochazka had withdrew from his main event battle with Glover Teixeira following a shoulder injury.
Teixeira refused to fight Ankalaev on short-notice, therefore the latter’s co-main event with Blachowicz was promoted to the headline act.
Ankalaev believed he won his encounter with Blachowicz, but the fight ended in a split draw, with both fighters earning a decision from one judge and the third awarding a draw.
It was just the fifth draw in UFC championship history and the 205lbs division was without a champion.
Shortly after the draw, Pereira, who had already been crowned the middleweight king, gained 20lbs to fight in the light heavyweight division.
He defeated Blachowicz by split decision in July 2023, before winning the title by knocking out Prochazka four months later at UFC 295.
Since then, Pereira has defended his belt three times, knocking out Jamahal Hill at UFC 300, before stopping Prochazka again and defeating Khalil Rountree Jr.
MMA veteran Eliot Marshall described Ankalaev’s path to victory against Pereira when speaking to UFC.com.
“Get Pereira on his back, and then figure out a way to kill,” he said.
Pereira raised the stakes of the much-anticipated 205-pound clash by issuing a $200,000 challenge to Ankalaev in March.
“Since you are so confident you will win, $200,000 to the winners charity of choice,” the Brazilian fan-favourite wrote on X.
UFC 313 will also witness Justin Gaethje take on Rafael Fiziev in a tasty lightweight co-main event, while Jalin Turner faces Ignacio Bahamondes in the same division.
