UFC Fight Night: Magomed Ankalaev vs Bogdan Guskov Preview & Prediction
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A late reshuffle at the top of the card sees former light heavyweight champion Magomed Ankalaev return from the first knockout loss of his career against short-notice replacement Bogdan Guskov.
Magomed Ankalaev vs Bogdan Guskov facts
What time are Magomed Ankalaev and Bogdan Guskov expected to walk out?
Where is UFC Fight Night: Ankalaev vs Guskov? Etihad Arena, Abu Dhabi, UAE
Where can I get tickets for UFC Fight Night: Ankalaev vs Guskov? Click here for the latest ticket information for UFC Fight Night 282
What TV channel is UFC Fight Night: Ankalaev vs Guskov on? UK – TNT Sports / USA – Paramount
Where can I stream UFC Fight Night: Ankalaev vs Guskov? UK – TNT Sports can stream the event online via the TNT Sports website and HBO Max / USA – Paramount+ & UFC Fight Pass
UFC Fight Night: Ankalaev vs Guskov main card
Magomed Ankalaev vs Bogdan Guskov (Light Heavyweight)
Steve Erceg vs Ramazan Temirov (Flyweight)
Islam Dulatov vs Wellington Turman (Welterweight)
Magomed Zaynukov vs Damian Rzepecki (Lightweight)
Rizvan Kuniev vs Tyrell Fortune (Heavyweight)
Abubakar Vagaev vs Saygid Izagakhmaev (Welterweight)
UFC Fight Night: Ankalaev vs Guskov prelims
Valter Walker vs Thomas Petersen (Heavyweight)
Dustin Jacoby vs Muhammad Said (Light Heavyweight)
Santiago Ponzinibbio vs Sam Patterson (Welterweight)
Ismael Bonfim vs Axel Sola (Lightweight)
Magomed Tuchalov vs Brendson Ribeiro (Light Heavyweight)
Nurullo Aliev vs Mike Davis (Lightweight)
Cody Gibson vs Abdul Hussein (Bantamweight)
Magomed Ankalaev: The former champion begins the road back
Magomed Ankalaev (21-2-1) makes his first walk since Alex Pereira snatched the light heavyweight title last October, a first-round knockout that ended a 14 fight unbeaten run and handed him the first KO loss of his career. Seven months prior he’d produced the finest performance of his life against that same opponent. The Dagestani is a complete striker who fights primarily out of southpaw, throws heavy leg kicks, front kicks to manage range and a punishing backhand, and keeps elite wrestling in his back pocket without needing to lean on it.
Bogdan Guskov: “Hitman” has never needed the judges
Bogdan Guskov (18-3-1) has finished every single one of his eighteen pro wins, fifteen of them by knockout, eleven inside the opening round. The Uzbek is 4-1-1 in the promotion, bouncing back from his debut loss with four straight finishes over Zac Pauga, Ryan Spann, Billy Elekana and Nikita Krylov before fighting Jan Blachowicz to a majority draw last December. He works best at range, prodding out the lead hand to draw reactions, landing nice jabs, looking for the counter left hook, and loading up on the big right hand that dropped Blachowicz. The concern is grappling defence – Volkan Oezdemir took him down with relative ease on debut and choked him out inside a round.
Magomed Ankalaev vs Bogdan Guskov prediction
The short notice factor gives us a big read. Guskov was deep into camp for a three round rematch against Jan Blachowicz, a fighter he’d been studying for months, and now finds himself in a five-round main event in a different country against a completely different problem. Jan is a durable, calf-kicking point striker with decent pop. Ankalaev is a far more well-rounded striker, hits harder, and has wrestling in reserve that Jan doesn’t. Ankalaev was already preparing for five rounds against a dangerous striker, so his camp’s vision doesn’t change too much.
Guskov’s route is obvious and it’s the right hand, either fired outright or from a pull counter, the shot that dropped Jan. He has real one-punch power, good head movement, sharp blitzes and maybe a slight speed edge on his combos. Everywhere else he’s outmatched. Oezdemir grounded him without much trouble and finished him inside a round, and Ankalaev’s wrestling is a level above that. Even if the takedowns don’t come, he can grind down Guskov’s power and gas tank in the clinch the way he does to most people.
Ank’s one vulnerability is the calf kick, and both Jan and Pereira chopped him up with it. Guskov does throw them, but he taps and flicks them out to score and set up his hands rather than to do lasting damage.
Expect Ankalaev to take his time, mix in level changes to open up the striking, and pick his moment. He rocked Pereira badly at the end of the second round in their first fight, and he has considerably less to worry about against a man who is primarily a boxer. Guskov has never seen a fourth round in the UFC. The coinflip is in the first two rounds, and after that Ankalaev should be smooth sailing.
Prediction: Magomed Ankalaev to win by KO/TKO
