Magomed Ankalaev’s Journey to UFC Stardom
Magomed Ankalaev’s path from a last-second submission loss to a light heavyweight title was built on years of steady results. The Dagestani contender debuted in 2018 against Paul Craig and appeared to be minutes from a decision win before Craig caught him in a triangle choke with one second remaining in Round 3. It was Ankalaev’s first professional defeat, and for years it remained an outlier in a run of wins. His official fighter history records the bout and the long climb that followed.
The video above is a fighter-picks preview for Ankalaev’s March 2025 title fight with Alex Pereira. It is not a replay of their bout. Ankalaev’s rise included two fights with Ion Cutelaba: their first meeting ended in a disputed stoppage, and Ankalaev won the rematch by first-round knockout. He added victories over Nikita Krylov and Volkan Oezdemir, then beat Thiago Santos by unanimous decision in March 2022. That result established him as a leading contender, although his next major opportunity did not arrive immediately.
Ankalaev’s first attempt at the vacant light heavyweight title came against Jan Blachowicz in December 2022. The five-round title fight was ruled a split draw, leaving the belt vacant and extending Ankalaev’s wait. He stayed near the top of the division with wins over Johnny Walker and Aleksandar Rakic before securing the title bout against Pereira. On March 8, 2025, Ankalaev won by unanimous decision, with judges scoring the fight 49-46, 48-47, and 48-47. The official scorecards document his championship victory.
The win made Ankalaev champion, but Pereira earned a rematch later that year. On October 4, 2025, Pereira stopped him with strikes at 1:20 of Round 1 to reclaim the title. The abrupt finish ended Ankalaev’s championship reign and a seven-year unbeaten streak inside the Octagon. The official scorecards for the rematch record the result, and Ankalaev spent the following months away from competition.
Ankalaev returned in July 2026 against Bogdan Guskov in Abu Dhabi. He survived the early rounds and finished the fight with strikes at 2:41 of Round 5, returning to the win column. The victory put his title ambitions back in focus after the Pereira rematch. The official event results and scorecards list the late stoppage.
Ankalaev’s career has included a debut loss, a disputed draw in a title fight, a championship win, and a quick defeat in the rematch. The 2026 finish over Guskov gave him a concrete response after losing the belt and showed that he remains active in the division’s top tier. The early Craig loss helps explain the patience behind his rise, while his subsequent results show how close he came to turning a long, difficult route into a sustained championship run.
