Magomed Ankalaev News

Chris Taylor - July 30, 2022

Tonight’s UFC 277 main card kicks off with a key light heavyweight contest featuring Magomed Ankalaev taking on Anthony Smith. Ankalaev (17-1 MMA) will enter the bout boasting an eight-fight winning streak, his latest being a unanimous decision victory over former light heavyweight title challenger Thiago Santos. The Russians lone career setback came in the form of a submission loss to Paul Craig in 2018.

Cole Shelton - July 28, 2022

Magomed Ankalaev plans to end Anthony Smith’s time as a contender in the UFC on Saturday at UFC 277. Opening up the pay-per-view main card is a pivotal light heavyweight scrap as Ankalaev is set to face Smith in a potential title eliminator fight. Although Smith is on a three-fight winning streak and has won all three fights by stoppage, Ankalaev plans to end the impressive run and prove how much better he is.

Harry Kettle - April 5, 2022

UFC light heavyweight Anthony Smith has given his thoughts on divisional rival and rising star Magomed Ankalaev. Out of all divisions in the UFC, there’s an argument to be made that light heavyweight is the most unpredictable. From Glover Teixeira and Jan Blachowicz winning the title to a host of new faces cropping up in the top 15, things have been pretty wild since Jon Jones vacated the belt and started his transition up to heavyweight.

Cole Shelton - March 14, 2022

In the main event of UFC Vegas 50 on Saturday, top-10 light heavyweights collided as Magomed Ankalaev took on Thiago Santos. Ankalaev entered the fight as the sixth-ranked light heavyweight and was on a seven-fight win streak with wins over Volkan Oezdemir, Nikita Krylov, and Ion Cutelaba among others. Thiago Santos, meanwhile, returned to the win column in his last time out as he beat Johnny Walker by decision to snap his three-fight skid.

Chris Taylor - March 12, 2022

Tonight’s UFC Vegas 50 event was headlined by a light heavyweight contest featuring Thiago Santos taking on Magomed Ankalaev. Santos (22-10 MMA), a former light heavyweight title challenger, was looking to earn his second straight win when he took to the Octagon this evening. ‘Marreta’ had last competed back in October, where he earned a unanimous decision victory over Johnny Walker.

Chris Taylor - March 12, 2022

Tonight’s UFC Vegas 50 event is headlined by a light heavyweight contest featuring Thiago Santos taking on Magomed Ankalaev. Santos (22-9 MMA), a former light heavyweight title challenger, will be looking to earn his second straight win when he takes to the Octagon this evening. ‘Marreta’ last competed back in October, where he earned a unanimous decision victory over Johnny Walker.

Chris Taylor - March 12, 2022

The Octagon remains in Nevada for tonight’s UFC Vegas 50 event, a fourteen-bout fight card headlined by Thiago Santos vs. Magomed Ankalaev. Santos (22-9 MMA), a former light heavyweight title challenger, will be looking to earn his second straight win when he takes to the Octagon this evening. ‘Marreta’ last competed back in October, where he earned a unanimous decision victory over Johnny Walker.

Cole Shelton - March 10, 2022

In the main event of UFC Vegas 50, top-10 light heavyweights collide as Thiago Santos takes on Magomed Ankalaev. Heading into the fight, Ankalaev is a massive -600 favorite while the Brazilian is a +425 underdog. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to pro fighters to get their prediction for the scrap. To no surprise, as the odds suggest, the pros are actually nearly split on this one as some think Santos is too much of a step-up while others believe Ankalaev is the real deal.

Adam D Martin - November 1, 2021

UFC light heavyweight contender Volkan Oezdemir reacted after suffering a nasty gash in a decision loss to Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 267. Oezdemir and Ankalaev met in the first fight on the UFC 267 main card. The fight was expected to provide fireworks between two of the hardest-hitting knockout artists in the UFC light heavyweight division, but it instead proved to be a tepid kickboxing affair. In the end, it was Ankalaev who won the unanimous decision, in no small part to the damage he inflicted on Oezdemir. After dropping his opponent in the first round, he later cut his eyelid open in the second. Fortunately for Oezdemir, he was able to continue fighting until the third round and make it to the distance, but he still suffered his second straight defeat.

Chris Taylor - October 30, 2021

A key light heavyweight bout featuring former title challenger Volkan Oezdemir taking on Magomed Ankalaev kicked off today’s UFC 267 main card. Ankalaev (16-1 MMA) had entered the contest on a six-fight winning streak, his most recent being a unanimous decision victory over Nikita Krylov back in February.

Cole Shelton - October 27, 2021

Volkan Oezdemir didn’t think he would be off for this long after his last fight. Back at UFC 251 last July, Oezdemir suffered a KO loss to Jiri Prochazka and since then, he has not been able to fight due to a variety of different reasons. However, he will finally make his return on the main card of UFC 267 against Magomed Ankalaev.

Drake Riggs - August 23, 2021

Volkan Oezdemir is ready to make up for some lost time. On Monday, MMA DNA’s Marcel Dorff revealed that a bout between top light heavyweight contenders in the No. 8 ranked Oezdemir and No. 7 Magomed Ankalaev is on. The two are set to compete in Abu Dhabi on Oct. 30 at UFC 267.

Chris Taylor - February 27, 2021

Tonight’s UFC Vegas 20 event was co-headlined by a key light heavyweight bout featuring Magomed Ankalaev taking on Nikita Krylov. Ankalaev (14-1 MMA) was returning to action for the first time since earning a first round knockout over Ion Cutelaba at UFC 254 in October. That victory had marked the Russian’s fifth in a row and third straight stoppage win.

Chris Taylor - February 27, 2021

Tonight’s UFC Vegas 20 event is co-headlined by a key light heavyweight bout featuring Magomed Ankalaev taking on Nikita Krylov. Ankalaev (14-1 MMA) will be returning to action for the first time since earning a first round knockout over Ion Cutelaba at UFC 254 in October. The victory marked the Russian’s fifth in a row and third straight stoppage win.

Harry Kettle - December 30, 2020

Top light heavyweight contenders will meet in late February as Magomed Ankalaev prepares to lock horns with Nikita Krylov. These two titans at 205 pounds will be hoping to make a statement to kickstart 2021 with both coming off the back of 2020 wins over legitimate names – Ion Cutelaba and Johnny Walker respectively.

Adam Martin - September 9, 2020

The on-again, off-again rematch between light heavyweight contenders Magomed Ankalaev and Ion Cutelaba has been re-booked for UFC 254. The UFC added Ankalaev vs. Cutelaba 2 to its official fight card for UFC 254, which takes place on October 24 on Fight Island. The main event of that card is scheduled to see UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov take on interim champ Justin Gaethje. Also on the card is a lightweight bout between Islam Makhachev and Rafael dos Anjos.