Former UFC light heavyweight champion Magomed Ankalaev says that Alex Pereira landed a “lucky punch” when he got knocked out at UFC 320.

In a failed first title defense at 205 lbs, Pereira knocked out Ankalaev just 80 seconds into the fight to win back the UFC light heavyweight title.

If you ask the Russian, the Brazilian got lucky when he landed that blow that night, suggesting that Pereira had some prior knowledge that Ankalaev was injured and took advantage of it.

Magomed Ankalaev Says Alex Pereira Got Lucky at UFC 320

Speaking to Bostanov MMA, Ankalaev made it clear that he felt like Pereira landed a “lucky punch” at UFC 320 when he reclaimed the UFC light heavyweight title.

“His business with me isn’t settled at all. You could call what happened a lucky punch. That’s how he beat me. I think they knew I had some kind of injury. I don’t think any fighter had ever rushed at me like that before. If he hadn’t known I was injured, I don’t think it would have ended so quickly,” Ankalaev said.

Will Magomed Ankalaev and Alex Pereira Have a UFC Trilogy Bout?

Ankalaev is coming off a TKO win over Bogdan Guskov in his last fight to bounce back from the loss to Pereira and show that he is still one of the elite light heavyweights in the UFC.

Pereira, meanwhile, vacated the light heavyweight title after he beat Ankalaev in their rematch and moved up to heavyweight, where he suffered a TKO loss to Ciryl Gane at UFC Freedom 250 in a failed attempt to claim the promotion’s interim heavyweight belt.

Next up, Pereira returns to the Octagon at UFC 335 in December when he battles Sergei Pavlovich in a potential No. 1 contender bout in the UFC heavyweight division. But if that doesn’t go well for Pereira, perhaps a move back down to light heavyweight could happen.