The Main Event of UFC Abu Dhabi featured a short-notice matchup of light heavyweights with different original opponents. Magomed Ankalaev (21-2-1) was originally set to headline against Khalil Rountree, who was forced out with an injury less than two weeks from the fight. In stepped Bogdan Guskov (18-3-1), who was scheduled to face Jan Blachowicz at UFC Belgrade next week.
When offered the opportunity against the top-ranked Ankalaev fresh off losing the belt, Guskov stepped up to the plate. The fight did not, however, go as he might have hoped.
Round 1- A slow and technical start for both men led to a lot of early leg kicks and feints. Ankalaev started to open up more with teeps to the body, but a head kick from Guskov showed the kicking wasn’t one-sided. Ankalaev kept Guskov guessing on the back foot, but the fight continued to be a kick-heavy affair. Any punches thrown were mostly one-offs, and nothing connected flush on either side. After trading kicks to the body and head, none of which landed clean, Ankalaev maintained forward pressure before landing a nice pair of lunging punches at the end of the round.
Round 2- The second round opened at the same pace as the first, with both men timid. Ankalaev landed a nice right hand down the middle, and kept switching stances to throw Guskov off. After nearly landing a big head kick, Ankalaev became more active in pressing the action, firing off head kicks and his southpaw straight. Guskov’s offense plummeted at this point, as he was barely throwing at the advancing Ankalaev. Guskov finally threw, landing a nice right hand that caused Ankalaev to wrap him up against the cage. The last minute of the round consisted of Ankalaev landing short uppercuts and knees to the body in the clinch.
Round 3- Ankalaev launched a head kick to open the round, taking his space in the middle and controlling the fight. A mix of head kicks and side kicks led the charge, with another big straight cracking Guskov. It was ridiculously low-volume and leg kick heavy to end the round, which could also describe the fight itself. Guskov did end the round with some nice leg kicks, but that’s seemingly all he had.
Round 4- Ankalaev went right to the double leg as the round started, getting Guskov down with ease. After transitioning a bit, he settled in half guard and landed punches with Guskov pressed against the cage. After rolling out, Guskov got to his knees near the cage. Ankalaev quickly reacted with a rear-naked choke, but wasn’t able to lock it up. From there, he remained heavy on Guskov’s back with hooks in, again being unable to lock in a choke. Ankalaev gave up on the choke, instead landing some big ground n’ pound as the round came to a close.
Round 5- At this point, Guskov needed to go for broke in Round 5. He gave it a try with an anaconda attempt on an early Ankalaev takedown, but lost his grip before it was in tight. Ankalaev moved to side control from there, focusing on landing punches. Guskov rolled out but gave up his back, allowing Ankalaev to really let go. Once he did, Marc Goddard had no choice but to stop the fight and protect the severely outmatched Guskov.
Official Result: Magomed Ankalaev def. Bogdan Guskov by TKO (ground and pound), Round 5, 2:41
