Thiago Santos and Magomed Ankalaev topped the UFC Vegas 50 card on Saturday, with one man hoping to break into the light heavyweight title picture — and the other hoping to stay there.
Santos has competed for gold against Jon Jones in 2019, but after coming close, leg injuries incurred in that fight seemed to have hampered him. He’d lost his next two, before finally bouncing back against Johnny Walker last year.
Magomed Ankalaev had won all of his UFC outings since he debut in the promotion in 2018. Seven straight wins, including most recently against former title challenger Volkan Oezdemir, had Ankalaev on the cusp of breaking through. While Jiri Prochazka had already locked up the next title shot, expected to come in June, a win for Ankalaev could put him next in line for the title, depending on the outcome of the Jan Blachowicz vs. Aleksandar Rakic fight.
Regardless, a win for both fighters was crucial, and they topped a relatively stacked card by recent Fight Night standards. Kickboxer Alex Pereira opened the card, while man of the hour Terrance McKinney returned on short notice to take on Drew Dober.
Following Saturday’s event, tune in above to catch the UFC Vegas 50 post-fight press conference.
