Former UFC light heavyweight champion Magomed Ankalaev is back in the win column.
Ankalaev scored a fifth-round TKO of Bogdan Guskov in the UFC Fight Night main event Saturday at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The finish came at the 2:41 mark of the round.
The Dagestani rebounded from a TKO loss to Alex Pereira at UFC 320 last October, a defeat that cost him the 205-pound title.
Ankalaev dominated Guskov throughout the fight, though it was a relatively low-action affair until the stoppage. Ankalaev outstruck Guskov in the first three rounds and controlled him on the ground in the fourth, nearly locking up a rear-naked choke. In the fifth round, Ankalaev took Guskov back to the canvas and rained down ground-and-pound until referee Marc Goddard intervened.
Ankalaev was initially scheduled to face Khalil Rountree Jr. in Saturday's main event, but Rountree withdrew earlier in July due to an injury. Guskov was slated to fight Jan Blachowicz at UFC Belgrade next weekend but stepped in against Ankalaev instead.
With the victory, Ankalaev now holds a record of 13-2-1 (1 NC) in the Octagon.
The 34-year-old won the light heavyweight title in March 2025, defeating Pereira by unanimous decision at UFC 313. He lost the belt in an immediate rematch seven months later. Ankalaev is ranked No. 1 in the division and could be next in line for a shot at current champion Carlos Ulberg, who's recovering from a torn ACL.
Guskov's five-fight unbeaten streak comes to an end with the loss. It marks the 33-year-old Uzbekistan native's first defeat since being submitted by Volkan Oezdemir in September 2023.
