Ankalaev Stops Guskov: UFC Abu Dhabi Recap 2026

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Photo: MMAnytt / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0.

Magomed Ankalaev stopped Bogdan Guskov by TKO at 2:41 of round five in the UFC Abu Dhabi main event — the former light heavyweight champion’s first fight since losing his title in October. The next day, July 26, Ankalaev publicly called out Paulo Costa for an interim title fight, firing back at Costa’s post-fight criticism. It’s a rare case where the fallout is more interesting than the fight itself.

How the fight went

Ankalaev (22-2-1) controlled the first three rounds with range management, never letting Guskov (18-4-1) settle into striking distance. The pressure ramped up in the championship rounds, and the finish came at 2:41 of round five via strikes. Final stats:

Stat	Ankalaev	Guskov
Significant strikes	54 of 113	39 of 63
Total strikes	156 of 235	45 of 70
Control time	8:26	—
Takedowns	2 of 4	0

Nearly a 2-to-1 gap in volume and accuracy. This wasn’t a close fight — it was a methodical breakdown of his opponent’s position round by round.

The odds: the market never doubted it

DraftKings closed the line at Ankalaev -550, Guskov +410, with the round total set at O/U 2.5. Ankalaev drew 70% of the handle and 78% of bets — a rare case of bettors and oddsmakers being in near-total agreement, and the result didn’t contradict either.

Why the light heavyweight title is sitting empty

To understand what this win is actually worth, you need the backstory: the belt Ankalaev lost to Alex Pereira in October 2025 isn’t with Pereira anymore. Pereira moved up to heavyweight, lost to Ciryl Gane there in May 2026, and left the light heavyweight division, vacating the title. Carlos Ulberg picked up the vacant belt with a knockout over Jiri Prochazka at UFC 327 in April — and promptly tore his ACL, ruling him out until at least early 2027.

So there’s a champion, but he’s not fighting. The division has spent nearly a year without an actual title defense, with contenders sorting out the pecking order in separate bouts instead.

What’s next: an interim title and a line of contenders

Before the fight, Ulberg himself proposed a formula: book Ankalaev against Prochazka, and separately Khalil Rountree against Paulo Costa — whoever looks more impressive gets his belt when he’s back. After beating Guskov, Ankalaev rewrote that script on his own terms, calling out Costa directly for an interim title fight in response to his post-fight jabs. Daniel Cormier has already named Ankalaev next in line at 205 regardless of the exact matchup.

For bettors, that means: a market on Ankalaev-Costa (if it happens) would open as one of the most significant lines for the division in the past year — an interim title with an injured champion is functionally the real thing until 2027.