Saturday marked the UFC’s 23rd time in Abu Dhabi since 2010. The occasion brought a 12-bout card that featured eight finishes. On the five-fight UFC Abu Dhabi main card, three of the fights ended before the final bell, including the main event and co-main event. In the main event, Bogdan Guskov filled in for an injured Khalil Rountree and took on Magomed Ankalaev.
Bogdan Guskov
(#2) Magomed Ankalaev out classed and submitted (#9) Bogdan Guskov in the final round of the pair’s five round bout of Saturday. Unfortunate outcome for Guskov as he filled in against the former champ on short notice and really had an opportunity to ‘skip the line’. Bogdan Guskov is now 4-2-1 with the UFC.
Guskov’s next fight should be against the loser of (#15) Jan Blachowicz vs. (#11) Navajo Stirling. That fight goes down August 1st so the timing would be excellent. Jan has already faced and fought Guskov to a majority draw back in December. The pair have been matched up twice since then including, August 1st before Guskov had to rebook to fill in for Rountree at UFC Abu Dhabi. 43-year-old, former champ, Jan Blachowicz is 12-8-2 with the UFC but hasn’t won a fight since 2022. Navajo is 10-0 and 5-0 with the promotion since being signed from the Contender Series in 2021. Whoever loses could potentially keep their ranking and either way, you either get an interesting rematch or a decent test for the 28-year-old. This fight could be on the main card of a fight night card.
Guskov’s next fight: Navajo Stirling vs. Jan Blachowicz loser
Steve Erceg
Ramazan Temirov melted former title challenger (#13) Steve Erceg in what was an amazing outing for the Uzbekistani fighter, and a bonus winning one. Erceg is now 5-4 with the UFC and will likely lose his ranking. This loss snapped a 2-fight win streak for Steve, over Ode Osbourne and Tim Elliot.
Steve’s next fight should be against the loser of the Charles Johnson vs. Jose Ocho fight. That fight is scheduled for August 15th so the timing could be good depending on if the bout ends with a finish. Charles is 8-7 with the UFC and lost to Ramazan back in March of last year. Jose Ocho is 2-2 with the UFC withe losses to Lone’er Kavanagh in his promotional debut and most recently, Asu Almabayev. Good bounce back, realistic matchup for Erceg against an opponent on a similar and in a similar position.
Erceg’s next fight: Charles Johnson vs. Jose Ocho loser
Damian Rzepecki
Magomed Zaynukov made his much-anticipated promotional debut and grinded out a unanimous decision victory over Damian Rzepecki, much to the delight of fans. The bout was also Damian’s promotional debut and the first loss of his professional career, as he’s now, 10-1.
Damian’s next fight should be against the loser of Noah Gugnon vs. Milos Janicic. Both are also making their UFC debuts and that fight goes down on August 1st. Timing is close, everyone has a somewhat similar record a (19-3, 9-2, respectively). Good booking to make.
Rzepecki’s next fight: Milos Janicic vs. Noah Gugnon loser
Tyrell Fortune
(#7) Rizvan Kuniev threw down with and dispatched Tyrell Fortune in a heavyweight banger that won Fight of the Night honors at UFC Abu Dhabi. The bout made it into the third round before the stoppage. Tyrell is now 1-1 with the UFC after defeating Marcin Tybura back in March for his debut.
Sticking with a previous losers article pick here, Tallison Teixeira should be Tyrell’s next fight. Teixeira is 2-2 with the UFC. The 2024 Contender Series product has wins over Justin Tafa and Tai Tuivasa but was finished in just over 30 seconds in both his promotional losses (Derrick Lewis and Sergei Pavlovich). This would be an interesting bout to make. Teixeira is just 26 and being pushed, a fight against him would do a lot heavy lifting for Tyrell and would offer an interesting stylistic matchup.
Fortune’s next fight: Tallison Teixeira
Saygid Izagakhmaev
Abubakar Vagaev bested Saygid Izagkhmaev over the course of three rounds to open the main event of UFC Abu Dhabi on Saturday. Saygid is now 0-2 with the UFC after losing his promotional debut to Nicolas Dalby via spilt decision last November. That was a very tall task for a debut fighter. To be fair, Saygid made his debut with the UFC at 22-2.
Saygid’s next fight should be against the loser of Ty Miller vs. Billy Ray Goff. That fight goes down on August 8th so the timing would match up well. Goff is a 2022 Contender Series product that is 1-2 with the UFC. He’s lost two in a row and had four cancelled bouts. Ty is a 2025 Contender Series veteran that is 1-0 with the UFC. This could be a bit of a mismatch as Ty is 7-0 while Billy is 9-4, but both are Contender Series Americans that could be a good litmus test for a guy that was immediately thrown to the wolves like Saygid.
Izagkhmaev’s next fight: Ty Miller vs. Billy Ray Goff loser
