Magomed Ankalaev vs. Bogdan Guskov: TKO Finish Highlights UFC Abu Dhabi Main Event
By Real Combat Media MMA Editorial Staff
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, (July 25th, 2026)–Magomed Ankalaev is back in the win column. The former UFC light heavyweight champion stopped short-notice replacement Bogdan Guskov by TKO at 2:41 of Round 5 to headline UFC Fight Night: Ankalaev vs. Guskov at Etihad Arena on Saturday, closing out a card that produced ten finishes across twelve fights.
Guskov stepped in on less than two weeks’ notice after Khalil Rountree Jr. withdrew from the assignment with an injury, forcing the Uzbek striker to scrap his own planned rematch with Jan Błachowicz at next week’s card in Belgrade. It looked like a live opportunity on paper given Guskov’s five-fight unbeaten stretch and heavy hands, but the fight never turned into the shootout many expected. Ankalaev controlled range behind kicks and straight punches through the first three rounds while Guskov circled and rarely engaged, drawing loud boos from the Etihad Arena crowd as the pace dragged. The former champion switched gears in Round 4, taking Guskov down and nearly locking up a rear-naked choke before riding out the round in full mount. He repeated the formula in the fifth, dragging Guskov back to the mat and unloading punches and elbows until referee Marc Goddard had seen enough at 2:41.
The win was Ankalaev’s first appearance since he lost the light heavyweight title to Alex Pereira by first-round TKO at UFC 320 this past October, a result that snapped a 14-fight unbeaten streak stretching back to his 2018 promotional debut. He improves to 22-2-1 (1 NC) while Guskov falls to 18-4-1.
Elsewhere on the card, Ramazan Temirov needed just over four minutes to blast out Steve Erceg with a straight right hand in the co-main event, and Rizvan Kuniev put together the most complete performance of his UFC run to stop fellow heavyweight contender Tyrell Fortune in Round 3. Three fighters made winning UFC debuts, Muhammad Saidov, Magomed Tuchalov and Abdul Hussein, and Valter Walker stayed red-hot with his fifth straight first-round submission win, this time via a calf slicer over Thomas Petersen. A scheduled middleweight bout between Islam Dulatov and Wellington Turman was scratched from the card after Dulatov fell ill.
Full Fight Card Results
Main Card
Light Heavyweight: Magomed Ankalaev def. Bogdan Guskov by TKO (punches), Round 5, 2:41
Flyweight: Ramazan Temirov def. Steve Erceg by KO (punches), Round 1, 4:21
Lightweight: Magomed Zaynukov def. Damian Rzepecki by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Heavyweight: Rizvan Kuniev def. Tyrell Fortune by TKO (strikes), Round 3, 1:12
Welterweight: Abubakar Vagaev def. Saygid Izagakhmaev by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Preliminary Card
Heavyweight: Valter Walker def. Thomas Petersen by submission (calf slicer), Round 1, 1:32
Light Heavyweight: Muhammad Saidov def. Dustin Jacoby by TKO (head kick and punches), Round 2, 4:49
Welterweight: Sam Patterson def. Santiago Ponzinibbio by TKO (punches), Round 2, 3:06
Lightweight: Axel Sola def. Ismael Bonfim by submission (D’Arce choke), Round 1, 4:44
Light Heavyweight: Magomed Tuchalov def. Brendson Ribeiro by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Lightweight: Nurullo Aliev def. Mike Davis by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Bantamweight: Abdul Hussein def. Cody Gibson by submission (arm-triangle choke), Round 3, 3:07
Bonus Winners
Rizvan Kuniev and Tyrell Fortune shared Fight of the Night. Ramazan Temirov and Valter Walker each collected Performance of the Night for their first-round finishes. Magomed Ankalaev, Muhammad Saidov, Sam Patterson, Axel Sola and Abdul Hussein all picked up finish bonuses, pushing the card’s total bonus pool north of half a million dollars.
Post-Fight Press Conference
Ankalaev didn’t wait long after the finish to start making his case for another crack at UFC gold. Speaking through a translator in his post-fight interview, the Dagestani standout put the blame for the slow pace on Guskov rather than his own approach, saying his opponent “wasn’t engaging in the striking” and kept retreating whenever Ankalaev looked to close the distance. At the post-fight press conference, Ankalaev called out light heavyweight champion Carlos Ulberg for a title opportunity, making clear the Pereira trilogy is a conversation for later and the belt is the more pressing priority. Where the promotion goes next at 205 pounds remains unsettled with Ulberg’s own timeline uncertain, but Saturday’s win keeps Ankalaev squarely in that conversation.
Social Media Reaction
Reaction to the main event was split. Inside Etihad Arena and across X, plenty of fans and MMA media members criticized the pace of the Ankalaev-Guskov fight, with several pointing out that Guskov offered little resistance once Ankalaev started chaining takedowns together in the championship rounds. UFC on Paramount+’s own account leaned into the finish itself, posting Ankalaev’s ground-and-pound sequence as the fight wrapped. The rest of the card fared much better with the online crowd. Clips of Valter Walker’s calf slicer and Ramazan Temirov’s first-round blast of Steve Erceg circulated widely, and Magomed Zaynukov drew attention for calling out the lightweight division in his post-fight interview. Reaction to the three winning UFC debuts from Saidov, Tuchalov and Hussein was largely positive, with fans and analysts flagging light heavyweight and bantamweight as divisions to watch after Saturday’s card.
Watch
UFC Abu Dhabi: Post-Fight Press Conference | Video Highlights
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