Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates hosted Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 282 event. The fight card is headlined by a light heavyweight bout between No. 2 ranked Magomed Ankalaev and No. 9 ranked Bogdan Guskov.
Ankalaev entered the fight looking to rebound after losing the title to Alex Pereira last October. He was originally slated to face former title challenger Khalil Rountree Jr., but Rountree was forced out of the bout due to injury two weeks before fight night. Guskov stepped up as a replacement. He was scheduled to compete next week at UFC Fight Night 283 in Serbia.
Guskov made the walk to the octagon coming off a majority draw against former champion Jan Blachowicz last December. Saturday’s main event matchup was late-notice but came with a massive opportunity.
The two touched gloves and both pawed with their jab. They exchanged leg kicks early. Guskov relied heavily on leg kicks through the first two minutes. Ankalaev inched forward. Guskov went to the body with a kick. Ankalaev answered with a left hand. It was a slow-paced opening round. MMAWeekly scored it 10-9 for Guskov.
Ankalaev pressured Guskov to start the second and landed the body with a kick. Guskov circled on the outside. Ankalaev stepped in the pocket with a left hand. He went high with a kick that was blocked. They exchanged jabs. Guskov continued to deliver leg kicks. Guskov switched stances back and forth. Guskov connected with a right hand. Ankalaev closed the distanced and clinched. He peppered Guskov with knees to the legs along the cage. They separated in the final seconds. MMAWeekly scored the round 10-9 for Ankalaev.
Ankalaev went high with a kick to start the third but it was blocked. Guskov delivered leg kicks but just touched Ankalaev with them. They didn’t seem to be inflicting much damage. Ankalaev continued to move forward. He connected with a left hand. Ankalaev dictated the pace of the fight thus far. He landed a left hand followed by a leg kick. A right hand landed for Ankalaev. Guskov constantly moved and circled on the outside not standing still. MMAWeekly scored the round 10-9 for Ankalaev.
Ankalaev took Guskov down in the opening moments of the fourth. He worked in the half guard position and delivered short left hands. Guskov rolled to his knees to try to stand and Ankalaev briefly looked for a rear-naked choke. He let it go and delivered left hands. Guskov did a good job or defended several rear-naked choke attempts. Ankalaev continued to land punches. He mounted Guskov at the end of the dominant round. MMAWeekly scored the frame 10-9 for Ankalaev.
They hugged to start the final round. Analaev changed levels and took Guskov down. Guskov quickly applied an anaconda choke but Ankalaev defended the submission attempt. Ankalaev moved to side control and delivered punches. Guskov rolled to his knees and Ankalaev delivered heavy shots. Ankalaev opened up with punches and the referee stepped in.
The official time of the TKO stoppage was 2:41 of the fifth frame.