Ankalaev promotes UFC event. Photo: Reproduction/Facebook/UFC
Chris Weidman reinforced the chorus in defense of Magomed Ankalaev . Despite dominating Bogdan Guskov and ending the fight in the fifth round, at UFC Abu Dhabi held last Saturday (25), the Russian became the target of criticism for a performance considered lukewarm. However, the negative assessments were countered by Daniel Cormier and, now, by Anderson Silva 's tormentor , who directed the responsibility for the pace of the fight to his opponent.
During an appearance on the 'Deep Waters' program, Weidman highlighted that Ankalaev did what was necessary in a five-round fight, controlling the pace in the initial moments before completely dominating the confrontation. The former champion also emphasized the Russian's efficiency in all areas, highlighting his wrestling performance as one of the high points of his fight.
“I don’t think it was his fault. In the early rounds, being a five-round fight, you need to pace yourself a bit, feel out the fight. But he dominated the fight in every aspect. It was the first time in a long time that we’d seen him use wrestling, and he looked great in that area,” said Chris Weidman.
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“You know what’s crazy? We’re talking about this guy like it’s something negative. He finished a very dangerous fighter, so you have to give him credit. I feel like we’re being harder on him than most people because we know how good he is. The guy goes there, gets a knockout, and yet we’re saying it was boring,” concluded the former champion.
Magomed Ankalaev dominates Bogdan Guskov, but bores audience at UFC Abu Dhabi
Having not fought since his loss to Alex Poatan at UFC 320 in October 2025, Magomed Ankalaev returned to action at UFC Abu Dhabi against Bogdan Guskov . Despite leaving no doubt about his superiority, the Russian failed to excite the fans.
Ankalaev controlled Guskov for four rounds with little action and, only in the fifth round, already under boos from the crowd, managed to secure a technical stoppage via ground and pound, more due to his opponent's fatigue than to the damage caused by his own strikes.
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