While Magomed
Ankalaev won his eighth consecutive light heavyweight bout at
UFC Fight Night 203, it wasn’t the type of performance that
will raise his stock in the eyes of promotion officials.
Ankalaev took an uneventful unanimous decision win over Thiago
Santos on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas in a clash
where both competitors were largely hesitant to pull the trigger.
Ankalaev was dropped in by Santos in the second round, but for the
most part, the Dagestani dictated the terms in the fight. In the
aftermath, Ankalaev admitted that it wasn’t his best showing, but
he put some of the blame on his opponent for the overall lack of
action.
“I am happy that I won,” Ankalaev said at the UFC Fight Night 203
post-fight press conference. “To be honest, it is what it is. We
expected him to move forward for the whole fight and to catch him
on his mistakes, but he preferred to move backwards. That’s why I
preferred to strike with him.
“To be honest, I’m not glad with my performance totally, because I
expected him to make an entertaining fight, to strike more, but it
is what it is.”
Saturday marked Ankalaev’s first headlining bout within the Las
Vegas-based promotion, and while it is unlikely to propel him to a
new level of stardom, the Gorets Fight Team member did find some
positives in his performance, namely fighting for a full 25
minutes.
“My goal was to fight the whole distance, to fight five rounds, and
test myself to see if I’m ready for the title shot,” Ankalaev said.
“Now I’m completely confident in myself and I’m ready for a big
shot.”
It’s undeniable that Ankalaev is one of the top contenders in a
notoriously shallow light heavyweight division. He’s won 16 of 17
professional bouts overall and his UFC resume includes triumphs
over the likes of Santos, Volkan
Oezdemir, Nikita
Krylov and Ion
Cutelaba (twice). Current light heavyweight champion Glover
Teixeira is slated to defend his belt against Jiri
Prochazka at UFC 275 at on June 11. Ankalaev is hopeful that he
can be next in line to face the winner of that bout.
“It’s completely up to the UFC and my manager, but in my opinion, I
deserve the title shot next because I’m on an eight-fight winning
streak and some of the fights I finish the guys,” Ankalaev said.
“I’m ready.”