7/25/26
UFC Abu Dhabi displayed entertaining fights throughout the card. There was a lot of hype surrounding multiple fighters, and they all turned in highlight performances and showed that they are here to stay. From UFC debuts, knockout and submission wins all through the card, and a former champion returning to form. Here is a recap of UFC Abu Dhabi: Ankalaev vs Guskov
Abubakar Vagaev vs Saygid Izagakhmaev: Welterweight
A competitive fight between two athletes new to the UFC in Abubakar Vagaev and Saygid Izagakhmaev. Vagaev came out strong in the first round and secured a takedown in the first couple of seconds of the fight. He controlled Saygid on the ground well, but Saygid never panicked and continued to find his way back to his feet multiple times. As the first round went on, Vagaev’s takedowns became less effective and allowed Saygid to work on the feet. Round two started on the feet, and both en exchanged shots before Saygid landed a takedown of his own. Again the fight went back to the feet as both men became fatigued and couldn’t effectively grapple. Vagaev started to put pressure on with the striking and the clinch work as the bout went into the third round.
Saygid caught a second wind in the third and came out swinging, landing big shots, but after shooting an unsuccessful takedown, Vagaev took advantage and took him down multiple times. The two men kept getting back to the feet, but Vagaev was relentless and kept shooting. The two grappled for the rest of the round, and Saygid actually tried to lock in multiple different submissions, but Vagaev’s defense was too good. Vagaev walked out the victor by decision after a well-rounded performance
Rizvan Kuniev vs Tyrell Fortune: Heavyweight
Rizvan Kuniev put on a masterclass in his dominant win over Tyrell Fortune and looked like a serious heavyweight contender. Fortune came out and landed some explosive shots to open the first round against Kuniev. Two big right hands would get Kuniev’s attention but he started to gain momentum as he clinched against the fence Kuniev landed some big knees that were hurting Fortune. Tyrell was still landing but each shot he took to the body took a little out of him. A spinning back kick to the ribs would stun Fortune as well and although he finished the first round, he was hurt. Kuniev came out in the second and went right back to work, landing a massive knee that injured Fortune’s ribs. Kuniev would continue to batter Fortune against the cage and it was impressive that Fortune stayed in the fight. He even landed a big right hand on Kuniev before being clinched again.
Fortune said to his corner he couldn’t breathe going into the third round because of his injury, but he went out anyway and started throwing, but with not much luck. Kuniev again showed no mercy and attacked the injury right away. He landed huge body shots as well as a head kick along with a knee to the head that put Fortune out on the mat. Kuniev gets the TKO victory and now looks for a top five opponent in the heavyweight rankings for his next fight.
Magomed Zaynukov vs Damian Rzepecki: Lightweight
A dominant win for Magomed Zaykunov, who had a lot of expectations going into this fight, and he delivered. A great showing from Damian Rzepecki as well, who has nothing but heart. Both men started the first round strong and locked into a stalemate in terms of productivity. Zaykunov was landing clean with leg kicks and good combinations while Rzepecki clinched well and did good work along the cage. An unfortunate eye poke to Rzepecki would change the tempo of the fight a little bit, and while he did recover and even landed a nice takedown, the striking of Zaykunov started to take its toll. Zaykunov, in the second round, started to get into a rhythm on the feet and started to batter Rzepecki. The Muay Thai elbows became a big weapon, slicing Rzepecki open and wobbling him multiple times. The fight somehow went into the third round, but Rzepecki was in dangerous territory.
The third round showed how tough Rzepecki was because he was on the receiving end of a brutal beatdown from Zaykunov. The elbows continued to land from all angles as well as head kicks and punch combinations. Rzepecki never waivered though, and showcased one of the grittiest performances of the year despite the loss. Massive respect for both fighters who swung until the end and somehow made it the distance. In the end though, Zaykunov gets the unanimous decision win and looks forward to getting closer to the rankings of the lightweight division.
Steve Erceg vs Ramazan Temirov: Flyweight
Ramazan Temirov came out with fury against Steve Erceg in the opening round and proved that he is a danger in the flyweight division. Temirov swung wildly from the get-go and opened up the fight with spinning back kicks, head kicks, and more. He threw extremely hard and was doing damage with every shot he landed. Erceg seemed to weather the storm after the opening flurry and started to settle in on the feet. A massive right hand rocked Erceg, though, and it was the beginning of the end. Temirov started to tee off, with each blow being more and more damaging. One final punch would flatline Erceg and secure the win for Temirov and place him in the top ten rankings of the division.
Magomed Ankalaev vs Bogdan Guskov: Light Heavyweight
Magomed Ankalaev once again got a dominant win over Bogdan Guskov to show that he is the number one contender for the light heavyweight belt. The first three rounds were at a very slow pace, with both men not wanting to pull the trigger and engage. Instead, it was a point-fighting kickboxing bout for most of the fight. Ankalaev is the better on the feet of the two, and he outstruck Guskov in every round. Guskov was landing here and there, although none amounted to much, and at a certain point he was just being walked down by Ankalaev. In the fourth round, Ankalaev decided to wrestle instead and took Guskov down. He attempted a few submissions, but Guskov stayed strong as the fight went into the fifth round.
The fifth was just like the fourth as Ankalaev secured a takedown and controlled Guskov on the ground until he started to rain down ground-and-pound shots. The strikes didn’t look too powerful, but they affected Guskov enough that he couldn’t fight back. Fatigue may have played a part as well, but Ankalaev smashed Guskov relentlessly until the fight was called. Absolute domination from the former champion, who showed the levels to the game. From the striking to the ground game, Magomed Ankalaev is one of the best in the world. He will likely fight for the interim title next, and the opponent is still undetermined, but he will have a chance at gold once again.
