The chase goes on for
Magomed
Ankalaev.
Still in hot pursuit of the
Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight title,
Ankalaev will take aim at
Johnny
Walker in a featured
UFC 294 attraction this Saturday at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi,
United Arab Emirates. The 31-year-old Russian holds a 9-1-1 record
across his 11 appearances inside the Octagon. Ankalaev has
delivered more than half (nine) of his 17 professional victories by
knockout or technical knockout, six of them inside one round.
As Ankalaev moves ever closer to his showdown with Walker at 205
pounds, a look at five of the many moments that have come to define
him:
1. Championship Material
Ankalaev laid claim to the vacant World Fighting Championship
Akhmat light heavyweight crown when he cut down
Maxim
Grishin with punches in the fourth round of their WFCA 30
showcase on Oct. 4, 2016 at the Akhmat Fight Club in Grozny,
Russia. Grishin checked out 1:13 into Round 4, suffering his first
setback in almost five years. A little more than a minute into the
fourth round of a thoroughly competitive confrontation, Ankalaev
decked his countryman with a crushing left hook to the jaw. As
Grishin collapsed to a seated position, he was met with a burst of
punches from his relentless counterpart. It was the beginning of
the end for the well-traveled
M-1 Global
veteran. Once Grishin returned to his feet under heavy fire, he ate
clean head kick, fell to the canvas for a second time and failed to
withstand the barrage of punches that followed. Ankalaev competed
twice more under the WFCA banner, then signed with the UFC.
2. Lack of Awareness
The ever-resourceful
Paul Craig
snatched victory from the jaws of defeat when he put away Ankalaev
with a literal last-second triangle choke in the third round of
their UFC Fight Night 127 light heavyweight prelim on March 17,
2018 at the O2 Arena in London. Craig prompted the tapout 4:59 into
Round 3. The previously unbeaten Ankalaev dominated all but a few
moments of the match. He outlanded Craig 89-34 in total strikes and
piled up almost seven minutes of control time. All the work went
for naught. Ankalaev pressed his advantages from top position with
time dwindling in the third round but forgot to keep his left arm
out of harm’s way. Craig clamped down on the exposed limb,
transitioned to a triangle and forced the decorated sambo stylist
to wave the white flag of surrender in a stunning turn of events. A
shocked and dismayed Ankalaev could only sit dejected in the center
of the cage.
3. Foot in the Door
Ankalaev flashed some of the brilliance that made him one of
Europe’s hottest commodities when he buried former Final Fight
Championship titleholder
Marcin
Prachnio with a first-round head kick and follow-up punches as
part of the UFC Fight Night 136 undercard on Sept. 15, 2018 at
Olimpiysky Arena in Moscow. Prachnio succumbed to blows 3:09 into
Round 1. A measured Ankalaev probed for openings at the start and
eventually unleashed his heavy hands, as he staggered the Pole with
a perfectly timed counter right hook and floored him with a
partially blocked head kick. The blows left Prachnio in no
condition to adequately defend himself, as his counterpart chased
him to the canvas, sealed the deal with follow-up punches and broke
into the UFC win column.
4. Name in Lights
Gorets Fight Team’s Ankalaev took care of business in his first
headlining assignment inside the Octagon, as he outstruck and
outhustled
Thiago
Santos to a unanimous decision in the UFC Fight Night 203 main
event on March 12, 2022 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Scores were
49-46, 49-46 and 48-47. Ankalaev withstood a second-round
knockdown, attacked the head, body and legs with superior output,
executed a takedown against the Brazilian and dictated the terms of
the vast majority of their exchanges. He was at his best in the
championship rounds, where he outlanded Santos by 72-35 margin and
compiled more than four minutes of control time. It may not have
had the zest Ankalaev desired, but it established him as viable
title contender at 205 pounds.
5. So Close, So Far Away
Jan
Blachowicz fought to a split draw with Ankalaev in the UFC 282
headliner on Dec. 10, 2022 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Judge
Michael Bell cast a 48-47 scorecard for Blachowicz, while Derek
Cleary saw it 48-46 for Ankalaev and Sal D’Amato scored it 47-47.
Ankalaev set the tone early with crisp punching combinations and
punishing front kicks to the body. Blachowicz answered by shifting
gears and blowing out the
Xtreme Couture rep’s base with vicious kicks to the lower leg.
They eventually hobbled Ankalaev to such a degree that he was
forced to switch stances. He made the necessary tactical
adjustments in the fourth and fifth rounds, where he crowded
Blachowicz with pressure, completed multiple takedowns and chipped
away with substantial ground-and-pound, all while piling up copious
amounts of control time. Ankalaev rose to his feet after Round 5,
convinced he had done enough, then left the cage in disgust moments
later.