The iconic UFC Octagon returns to Abu Dhabi on Saturday for UFC Fight Night, headlined by former light heavyweight champion Magomed Ankalaev taking on Bogdan Guskov.
Guskov comes into the fight on relatively short notice after former title challenger Khalil Rountree Jr. was forced to pull out of his scheduled fight with Ankalaev. Rountree vs. Ankalaev was an intriguing matchup of proven 205-pounders, but Guskov has been showing good results lately and will be looking to make a name for himself with a win over Ankalaev.
Guskov was submitted by Volkan Oezdemir in his UFC debut, but bounced back with a four-fight winning streak that included a TKO of Ryan Spann and a knockout of Nikita Krylov.
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These wins prepared Guskov for the biggest fight of his career, facing former light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz at UFC 323. Guskov nearly finished Blachowicz in the second round with a devastating knockdown in the frame, but Blachowicz came back in the third round, resulting in a draw.
Guskov and Blachowicz were scheduled to rematch on August 1, but Guskov’s call to save Saturday’s main event was abandoned. The good news for Guskov is that he was already in training camp and his deadline was only pushed back a week, so he should be ready to fight.
Ankalaev has been out of action since last October, when he lost the light heavyweight title in a rematch with Alex Pereira at UFC 320. Ankalaev was stopped in just 80 seconds that night, a far cry from his title performance in the first fight with Pereira, where Ankalaev largely dominated the fight.
The loss to Pereira ended Ankalaev’s 13-fight unbeaten streak, which began after he lost his first UFC fight.
UFC Fight Night card, odds
- Magomed Ankalaev -550 vs. Bogdan Guskov +410, light heavyweight
- Steve Erceg -112 vs. Ramazan Temirov -108, flyweight
- Islam Dulatov -1000 vs. Wellington Thurman +650, welterweight
- Magomed Zainukov -298 vs. Damian Rzepecki +240, lightweight
- Rizvan Kuniev -340 vs. Tyrell Fortune +270, heavyweights
- Abubakar Vagaev -250 vs. Abubakar Vagaev Saigid Izagakhmaev +205, welterweight
- Walter Walker -166 vs. Thomas Petersen +140, heavyweights
- Dustin Jacoby -185 vs. Muhammad Saidov +154, light heavyweights
- Sam Patterson -500 vs. Santiago Ponzinibbio +380, welterweight
- Axel Sola -192 vs. Ismael Bonfim +160, lightweight
- Magomed Tuchalov -850 vs. Brandson Ribeiro +575, light heavyweights
- Nurullo Aliyev -225 vs. Mike Davis +185, lightweight
- Abdul Hussein -535 vs. Cody Gibson +400, Bantamweight
Forecast
Ankalaev has established himself as an elite light heavyweight, working hard for years to finally gain – and realize – his opportunity to become a champion. Although he lost the title in the rematch, Ankalaev stated that he ignored his team’s advice to withdraw from the fight due to injury and paid for it with a loss.
Guskov is a dangerous fighter, but he has not yet shown himself at Ankalaev’s level. However, it is noteworthy that Guskov beat several good fighters and came to a draw with Blachowicz.
It is concerning that Guskov was so dominant in the second round against Blachowicz, only to be knocked out and lose the third. Ankalaev is a fighter who will take advantage of a declining fighter and has the skills to make Guskov work for everything. Choice: Magomed Ankalaev via UD