5 reasons why Magomed Ankalaev could dominate the UFC light-heavyweight division for years to come
This week saw some big news in the UFC, as Jiri Prochazka was forced out of his light heavyweight title rematch with Glover Teixeira, leaving the vacant title to be won by either Magomed Ankalaev or Jan Blachowicz next month at UFC 282.
Despite Jan Blachowicz’s credentials, it seems likely that Magomed Ankalaev will leave UFC 282 as the new light heavyweight champion – but can he go onto dominate the division?
Given what we’ve seen from the Dagestani fighter thus far, the answer is definitely likely to be yes, giving him the potential to become the Khabib Nurmagomedov of the 205lbs division.
Here are five reasons why Magomed Ankalaev is all set to dominate the UFC light-heavyweight division for years to come.
#5. Magomed Ankalaev matches up well with the light heavyweight division’s other top dogs
Right now, Magomed Ankalaev is ranked at No.3 in the UFC’s light heavyweight division, behind three other fighters: Jiri Prochazka, who vacated the 205lbs title this week, and two former champions in the form of Glover Teixeira and Jan Blachowicz.
Ankalaev will face off against Blachowicz for the vacant title at UFC 282 next month, and there’s definitely the chance that he’ll face Teixeira and Prochazka at some point in the future. So how does he match up with them?
The answer is that the Dagestani matches up with all three of them very well. His powerful wrestling should give him a big advantage over Blachowicz, who has traditionally struggled with opponents capable of putting him on his back and keeping them there.
Sorry for my Google translate you will respect me after we fight I already respect you twitter.com/JanBlachowicz/…
Teixeira is a far better grappler than Blachowicz and doesn’t have the same hole in his game, but equally, he’s also 43 years old and no longer possesses the explosiveness of a fighter like Ankalaev. Put simply, it’s hard to imagine him doing well against Ankalaev if he were to push the pace.
Prochazka is perhaps the hardest match for Ankalaev out of the three. A true agent of chaos, ‘Denisa’ is a dangerous fighter in all areas, and is also a consummate finisher. However, he’s also not invulnerable, and it’s definitely arguable that Ankalaev’s superior technique could give him the edge.
Essentially, then, Ankalaev is arguably better than the light heavyweight division’s top three already – putting him in prime position to dominate the weight class.
#4. Magomed Ankalaev is still young compared to many of his peers in the division
It’s been notable for some years now that light heavyweight is probably the UFC’s oldest weight class when it comes to the average age of its top fighters. Right now, none of the 205lbs division’s top ten are under 30 years old, something that cannot be said for any of the promotion’s other weight classes.
However, while it’s unlikely that Jan Blachowicz and Glover Teixeira – who are both over the age of 40 – are likely to stick around for much longer, Magomed Ankalaev is in fact just 30 years old and is probably only just hitting his prime.
This means that the Dagestani is younger than basically all of his peers in the division, save for Jiri Prochazka, who was born four months later than him.
When you add in the fact that he’s only been fighting professionally since 2014 and doesn’t yet have a decade in the game, particularly at the top level, it’s safe to say that Ankalaev probably has plenty left in the tank.
Given that he’s already been dominating the majority of his opponents in the octagon, then, and there’s a chance that he could continue to improve and get even better, then it definitely feels likely that he’ll become the division’s top fighter for years to come.
#3. Magomed Ankalaev is riding a very dominant winning streak
Few fighters in the modern era of the UFC are able to put together seriously lengthy winning streaks, particularly before they’ve even won a title in the octagon. However, that’s just what Magomed Ankalaev has been able to do.
After debuting in the octagon in early 2018 with a disappointing loss to Paul Craig, Ankalaev has been perfect, reeling off nine wins in a row while climbing the ladder by beating tougher opponents each time he’s fought.
More to the point, none of those nine wins have particularly been close, with Ankalaev largely dominating all of his foes from start to finish, even if he hasn’t looked that much of a deadly finisher at times.
Magomed Ankalaev takes the biggest win of his career by UD 💪
[ @AnkalaevM | #UFCVegas50 ] https://t.co/qpuRVL8T9A
The most important thing about this streak of victories is that in the world of the UFC, winning can essentially become a habit, and if a fighter can keep reeling off wins, then it becomes hard for them to even imagine losing.
Right now, Magomed Ankalaev has an aura of invincibility around him like no other at 205lbs, meaning he could be set for a truly dominant run at the top of the division.
#2. Magomed Ankalaev has never really been tested inside the octagon
Ever since his octagon debut in March 2018, Magomed Ankalaev has fought some of the most feared 205lbers in the world, from Nikita Krylov and Volkan Oezdemir to Thiago Santos and Anthony Smith. Remarkably, despite this strength of opposition, the Dagestani has never truly been tested by any of them.
@AnkalaevM makes it 7 in a row at #UFC267. An absolutely DOMINANT performance 😤
🇷🇺 @AnkalaevM makes it 7 in a row at #UFC267.
[ #UFC267 | Tune in LIVE on @ESPNPlus | @VisitAbuDhabi | @InAbuDhabi | #InAbuDhabi ] https://t.co/ZunRaIwcOc
Sure, he lost his debut to Paul Craig, but that bout was a real outlier. Ankalaev dominated ‘Bearjew’ for practically the entirety of the fight, hurting him with a body kick in the opening round, but somehow, Craig caught him in a triangle choke and submitted him with just a second to go.
Had Ankalaev managed to resist submitting, he’d be riding a ten-fight win streak right now, but outside of that one triangle choke, the Dagestani has never been in trouble in any of his fights. Put simply, then, any fighter who can compete at the top of the UFC for four and a half years without really being tested has to be considered special.
Essentially, if he possessed a less stoic personality, it’s likely that UFC fans across the world would be buzzing for his prospects as a potential champion as much as they were for his countrymen Khabib Nurmagomedov and Islam Makhachev before both claimed lightweight gold.
And just like Khabib and Makhachev, it feels like Ankalaev is set to dominate his weight class in the near future.
#1. Nobody else on the scene looks capable of beating Magomed Ankalaev
One notable thing about many of the UFC’s champions right now is that only a handful of them look unbeatable. That’s because for as good as some of the promotion’s titleholders seem, many of the weight classes have red-hot prospects climbing the ladder that look capable of claiming the gold in the future.
Aljamain Sterling, for instance, has dominated at 135lbs, but it’s hard not to worry for him in a potential bout with Sean O’Malley, while welterweight champion Leon Edwards is probably looking over his shoulder at the looming threat of Khamzat Chimaev.
At light heavyweight, though, this time a week ago, Magomed Ankalaev was the big threat looming over then-205-pound champion Jiri Prochazka.
With Prochazka now sidelined, though, there’s a huge chance that Ankalaev will claim the vacant title by defeating Jan Blachowicz at UFC 282, and if he does that, is there really anyone looming in the background over him?
In all honesty, the answer is no. There’s no hot young fighter underneath Ankalaev that he wouldn’t be favored to beat, nor is there anyone outside the UFC with the skillset to really be favored over him.
Therefore, it’s only logical to believe that should he win the vacant title, the Dagestani will go onto dominate his division for a long time.