Former UFC light heavyweight champion Magomed Ankalaev called out his next opponent following his victory at UFC Abu Dhabi.
Ankalaev defeated Bogdan Guskov via fifth-round TKO in what was a flawless victory at UFC Abu Dhabi. Though the fight wasn’t exactly exciting to watch, Ankalaev did what he needed to do to defeat Guskov and get back into the win column after losing his title to Alex Pereira in his last fight.
Now, with Guskov in the rearview mirror, Ankalaev is already looking ahead to his next fight.
Magomed Ankalaev Open to Paulo Costa Fight
Speaking to reporters following UFC Abu Dhabi, Ankalaev was asked what he wants next, and the No. 2-ranked Russian called out No. 4-ranked Brazilian Paulo Costa for his next bout.
Though in an ideal world Ankalaev would be fighting UFC light heavyweight champion Carlos Ulberg in his next fight, he knows that the champ is currently on the shelf mending an ACL tear, so the next-best option is Costa, and that’s what Ankalaev wants, preferably at UFC 33 on October 24, back in Abu Dhabi.
“I believe I saw that Paulo Costa wrote something my direction. I’m not sure what he was trying to say. Was he trying to bother me? Was he trying to get my attention? So if the champion is indeed going to be out for a little while, then potentially maybe we could have a good fight with Costa – unless he’s going to be running away,” Ankalaev said (via MMAjunkie.com).
“Obviously, if Paulo Costa wants to do it, if the UFC is saying that that’s a possibility, I would happily be the one to fight here in Abu Dhabi in October. I always want to show exciting fights. I always want to show fun fights for the fans. But it seems as though a lot of the people, when they see me in front of them, they start to run away, and I have to be the one trying to find them and hunt them. Sometimes the fight doesn’t turn out the way I want, so if Paulo Costa is going to stand in front of me and wants to stand and bang, we can definitely bang it out here in Abu Dhabi,” Ankalaev said.
Paulo Costa Not a Fan of Magomed Ankalaev
As Ankalaev noted, Costa had remarked on his fight with Guskov on social media, which the former champ obviously saw and took to heart.
“By the power of the Almighty, I shall save this weighclass from monotony and boredom,” Costa wrote on X.
Costa was actually asked to fight Ankalaev on short notice at UFC Abu Dhabi after Khalil Rountree Jr. pulled out due to injury, but with concerns about properly preparing for the bout, he declined to take the fight, and that’s when Guskov filled in.
We’ll see what the UFC matchmakers ultimately decide on, but a fight between Ankalaev and Costa with a potential UFC light heavyweight title shot on the line certainly makes a lot of sense.
Magomed Ankalaev Calls Out Next UFC Opponent