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It wasn\u2019t especially compelling viewing, but Magomed Advertisement<\/p>\n<\/div>\n In the main event of The first round was a tense affair, as Ankalaev employed his usual Viewers who wondered whether they had just been watching the same The final round saw Ankalaev pick up right where he left off, Returning to action for the first time in nearly 18 months, In a clash of undefeated young lightweight debutants, Khabib Rizvan In the main card opener, Abubakar Heavyweight foot enthusiast Valter Muhammad Youth and size played major roles as Sam Axel It was not without drama, but undefeated light heavyweight prospect Nurullo In the bantamweight opening bout of UFC Abu Dhabi, \u201cThe Ultimate Getty Images\/UFC It wasn\u2019t especially compelling viewing, but Magomed Ankalaev (21-2-1) showed beyond a doubt that he is simply too much for the vast majority of light heavyweights to handle. Advertisement In the main event of UFC Abu Dhabi on Saturday at Etihad Arena, the recently dethroned champ faced Bogdan Guskov (18-4-1), who was promoted […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":39521,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[150],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-39520","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-martial-arts-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.martialartskleinanzeigen.com\/videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39520","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.martialartskleinanzeigen.com\/videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.martialartskleinanzeigen.com\/videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.martialartskleinanzeigen.com\/videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.martialartskleinanzeigen.com\/videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39520"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.martialartskleinanzeigen.com\/videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39520\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.martialartskleinanzeigen.com\/videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39521"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.martialartskleinanzeigen.com\/videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39520"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.martialartskleinanzeigen.com\/videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39520"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.martialartskleinanzeigen.com\/videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39520"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nAnkalaev<\/a> (21-2-1) showed beyond a doubt that he is simply too
\nmuch for the vast majority of light heavyweights to handle.<\/p>\n
\nUFC Abu Dhabi<\/a> on Saturday at Etihad Arena, the recently
\ndethroned champ faced Bogdan
\nGuskov<\/a> (18-4-1), who was promoted from next week\u2019s Belgrade
\ncard to headliner duty when Khalil
\nRountree<\/a> withdrew from the fight last month. Guskov had the
\nopportunity to jump the line to a title shot if he could defeat
\nAnkalaev, but there never appeared to be even the slightest chance,
\nas the Dagestani dominated virtually every moment of the fight.<\/p>\n
\nmethodical approach on the feet while Guskov constantly switched
\nstances and moved in and out of range, looking for an opportunity
\nto land one of his trademark power shots. The haymaker never came,
\nbut Guskov landed enough kicks to the leg and body to keep it
\ncompetitive. The pace remained measured in Round 2, but Ankalaev
\nappeared to have gotten his reads, as he began meeting Guskov\u2019s
\nentries with sharp counters, and landing two- and three-piece
\ncombinations when he went on the offensive. As the round wore on,
\nGuskov became increasingly tentative on offense, leading to
\nvirtually no chances to land an equalizer. Ankalaev, perhaps
\nfeeling the increasingly lopsided momentum, opened up his arsenal a
\nbit in Round 3, launching a head kick in the very first exchange
\nand a spinning backfist a minute later, even as the Abu Dhabi crowd
\ncontinued to voice its displeasure at the slow pace.<\/p>\n
\nround on a loop were treated to something different when Ankalaev
\npromptly took Guskov down to open Round 4. That led to a lengthy
\nsequence in which Ankalaev calmly pelted Guskov from half guard at
\nthe base of the fence. The strikes were sporadic but stinging, and
\nwhen Guskov turned aside near the midpoint of the round, \u201cBig Ank\u201d
\nmoved to back mount, sinking a hook and battering Guskov\u2019s head
\nwith punches and elbows. With under a minute in the round and
\nGuskov offering absolutely nothing, Ankalaev switched back and
\nforth between punching the head and applying face cranks until the
\nhorn.<\/p>\n
\ngrounding Guskov in seconds with a single-leg takedown which he
\nchained smoothly to a double. From there, he resumed the steady
\ndiet of elbows and punches from Round 4. Guskov gave a brief scare
\nwith a guillotine choke attempt, but it was abandoned within
\nseconds.
\nIn the face of the unrelenting assault, referee Marc Goddard warned
\nGuskov several times to move and defend himself, but after giving
\nhim ample opportunity to do so, he interposed himself to stop the
\nbeating at 2 minutes, 41 seconds of Round 5.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\nTemirov flattens Erceg in UFC Abu Dhabi co-main event<\/h2>\n
\nRamazonbek
\nTemirov<\/a> (20-3) reminded us why he is a big deal in the UFC\u2019s
\nsmallest men\u2019s division, blowing up former title challenger
\nSteve
\nErceg<\/a> (14-5) with first-round punches in the co-main event. The
\naction was furious from the jump, as Temirov hurt Erceg with a
\nspinning back kick in one of the first exchanges, but was
\noverzealous in his hunt for the finish and ended up with the lanky
\nAussie on his back, looking for a choke. He escaped and both
\nfighters regrouped, though the pace remained very high throughout
\nthe first round. As the round wore on, Erceg appeared to figure out
\nthe distance first, leading to several minutes in which he marched
\ndown the shorter man, keeping him on the end of his punches.
\nHowever, everything turned on a dime when Temirov planted his feet
\nand crushed Erceg with an overhand right. \u201cAstro Boy\u201d was hurt, but
\ntried valiantly to recover, backing off and covering up.
\n
\nTemirov had no intention of letting him off the hook, however, and
\nwhen he landed another overhand that dropped Erceg face-first onto
\nthe canvas, referee Mike Beltran was there in a flash to prevent
\nany needless follow-up strikes.<\/a><\/strong> The end came at an
\nofficial 4 minutes, 21 seconds of Round 1.<\/p>\nZaynukov dominates Rzepecki<\/h2>\n
\nNurmagomedov<\/a> prot\u00e9g\u00e9 Magomed
\nZaynukov<\/a> (9-0) kept his record perfect at the expense of Polish
\nprospect Damian
\nRzepecki<\/a> (10-1). The first round was competitive, with both
\nfighters working through some awkward exchanges in the orthodox vs.
\nsouthpaw striking. Zaynukov seemed to get slightly the better of
\nthem, though he was cautioned for an eye poke and multiple
\ninstances of extending his fingers towards his opponent\u2019s face.
\nThat dynamic carried over into the middle round, with \u201cChanco\u201d
\nmixing in a smoothly executed takedown as well. The pace slowed
\nlater in Round 2, as both fighters acquiesced in some lengthy
\nclinch exchanges, but Zaynukov ended up doing far more damage,
\nnailing Rzepecki with an elbow that opened a deep cut and appeared
\nto hurt him badly. Things did not improve for the Pole in the final
\nframe; Zaynukov continued to outland him, worsened the cut until
\nthe fight appeared to be in danger of a doctor stoppage, and won
\ngoing away. The judges nailed the two-foot putt, turning in
\nidentical 30-27 scorecards in recognition of the Dagestani\u2019s easy
\ndominance.<\/p>\nKuniev busts up Fortune<\/h2>\n
\nKuniev<\/a> (14-3-1, 1 NC) made the most of his main card billing,
\nhammering Tyrell
\nFortune<\/a> (18-4) with an arsenal of close-range weapons in their
\nheavyweight clash. Kuniev was the aggressor for most of Round 1,
\nforcing clinch exchanges and shoving Fortune to the fence, where he
\nunloaded with short hooks and uppercuts. Fortune landed enough
\npunches of his own to keep things competitive, but his few attempts
\nto bring the fight to the floor went nowhere. The same essential
\ndynamic played out in the second round, at least until about a
\nminute in, when Kuniev hurt Fortune with a burst of punches and
\nknees in close quarters, including a body shot that may have
\ninjured a rib. The American backed off, hurt, and Kuniev pursued,
\nleaning on Fortune and pouring on the punches. Fortune, to his
\ncredit, did not wilt under the assault, shucking Kuniev off and
\nreturning fire with punches of his own, but when the horn sounded,
\nthe Russian was firmly in command. Likely knowing he was behind on
\nthe scorecards, Fortune came out aggressively for the final frame,
\nbut Kuniev answered his charges with pinpoint counter punches,
\nintercepting knees and a front kick up the middle that snapped
\nFortune\u2019s head back.
\nBadly hurt and cut or swollen around both eyes, Fortune went down
\nin a heap under a final salvo of knees and referee Jim Perdios
\nmoved in to forestall further punishment, awarding the fight to
\nKuniev by technical knockout at of 1 minute, 12 seconds of Round
\n3.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\nVagaev holds on to defeat Izagakhmaev<\/h2>\n
\nVagaev<\/a> (25-4) made a successful UFC debut, getting out early
\nand then weathering a late charge from Saygid
\nIzagakhmaev<\/a> in their lightweight feature. Vagaev floored
\nIzagakhmaev with a trip in seconds, but Izagakhmaev refused to
\nconcede the takedown, patiently using the cage to stand back up.
\nThat led to a clinch sequence against the fence that took up the
\nentire first half of the round, but ended with the Chechen on top,
\ndropping short strikes including an elbow that opened a cut over
\nIzagakhmaev\u2019s eye. It was a clear first round in favor of Vagaev,
\nbut Izagakhmaev did some damage late in the round with calf kicks,
\nwhich he continued in the second stanza. The Dagestani was also the
\nfirst to strike for a takedown that round, though he did not manage
\nany damage or significant advantage there. By the midpoint of the
\nsecond round, Vagaev appeared to be slowing, whether from the low
\nkicks, the grueling, wrestle-heavy first round or a combination of
\nfactors. Izagakhmaev began more than holding his own in clinch
\nexchanges, striking Vagaev with knees up the middle. In the final
\nmoments before the horn, Vagaev landed some hard standing elbows
\nthat might have stolen the round for him. With fatigue clearly
\nsetting in and the outcome of the fight still very much in
\nquestion, the lightweights pulled out all the stops for Round 3. A
\ncouple of tense clinch exchanges took place before Vagaev made the
\nfirst serious takedown attempt of the round, grounding Izagakhmaev
\nmomentarily near the fence before he used a kimura to stand back
\nup. Vagaev dug deep, shooting a double-leg takedown, hoisting and
\nslamming Izagakhmaev near the midpoint of the round. Izagakhmaev
\npromptly swept him, however, and landed in top position, thumping
\nVagaev with short punches as he moved to mount, then threatened to
\ntake his back. Izagakhmaev spent the balance of the fight in
\ndominant positions, transitioning from arm-triangle and armbar
\nattempts to bursts of accurate ground punches, though Vagaev
\nescaped and tried for a last-second submission before the horn. It
\nwas a competitive fight throughout, and the judges responded with a
\ntrio of 29-28 scores in favor of Vagaev.
\n<\/p>\nWalker collects another foot<\/h2>\n
\nWalker<\/a> (16-1) continued one of the most improbable streaks in
\nUFC history, tapping out Thomas
\nPetersen<\/a> (11-5) at 1:32 of the first round. It was his fifth
\nfirst-round submission win in a row, though his even more
\nincredible run of consecutive heel hooks did come to an end. The
\nfight itself played out very similarly to Walker\u2019s last few, as he
\nimmediately tried to bring the fight to the floor with a takedown
\nand, when that did not happen, pulled guard. Petersen spent a few
\nmoments in Walker\u2019s dangerous guard before trying to stand out of
\nhis first heel hook attempt.
\nThat led to a comical sequence in which Petersen crawled across the
\nOctagon floor, dragging the massive Brazilian behind him like a
\nball and chain as Walker transitioned from one leglock attempt to
\nanother.<\/a><\/strong> It was a calf slicer that finally elicited
\nthe tap, and referee Dan
\nMovahedi<\/a> stepped in to save the knee ligaments of the
\nbewildered American.<\/p>\nSaidov wrecks Jacoby<\/h2>\n
\nSaidov<\/a> (10-0) made a successful UFC debut, upsetting the
\nfavored Dustin
\nJacoby<\/a> (22-10-1) in a meeting of light heavyweight strikers.
\nSaidov struggled early with Jacoby\u2019s busy and diverse kicking
\narsenal and was on his back foot for most of the first round,
\nthough he stood his ground and caught \u201cThe Hanyak\u201d with enough
\nclean counter punches to arguably win the round. By Round 2, the
\nnewcomer had figured out the range, and his opponent, and began
\ntagging Jacoby with punches more frequently, as well as landing his
\nown kicks. Still, it was a competitive fight until late in the
\nsecond round when Saidov hurt Jacoby with a right hand-left high
\nkick combo.
\nHe followed the reeling American to the fence, where he unleashed a
\nstream of right hands as Jacoby covered up.<\/a><\/strong> Referee
\nJim Perdios looked on closely, and when Jacoby sank to the floor,
\nhe waved off the fight at 4:49 of Round 2.<\/p>\nPatterson overwhelms Ponzinibbio<\/h2>\n
\nPatterson<\/a> (15-3-1) piled up the damage on Santiago
\nPonzinibbio<\/a> (30-10) en route to a second-round TKO stoppage.
\nPonzinibbio, who turns 40 in September, continued to live up to his
\nreputation as an aggressive, fast starting welterweight action
\nstar, wobbling the towering Englishman with a punch combination
\nearly in Round 1. Patterson recovered, however, and once he did,
\nhis power and enormous reach advantage came into play. Patterson
\nhurt Ponzinibbio several times in the first round, including a
\nflurry late that drew a desperation takedown attempt out of \u201cThe
\nArgentine Dagger.\u201d The mauling picked right back up in Round 2,
\nwith Patterson again finding a home for his jab, cross and hook
\nalmost at will. Ponzinibbio was game, but was rocked badly on
\nseveral occasions,
\nand when Patterson dropped him with a two-piece just after the
\nmidpoint of the round,<\/a><\/strong> referee Mike Beltran jumped in
\nfor the stoppage at 3:06.<\/p>\nSola hammers, strangles Bonfim<\/h2>\n
\nSola<\/a> (12-1-1) rebounded from his first career loss in
\nresounding fashion, thumping Ismael
\nBonfim<\/a> (20-7) before snaring him in a tight brabo choke late in
\nthe first round of their lightweight scrap. Sola, who dropped a
\nunanimous decision to Mason Jones<\/a>
\nin his last outing, left nothing to chance\u2014or the judges\u2014as he
\nleveraged his longer reach on the feet and punished the older
\nBonfim brother\u2019s takedown attempts with elbows and short punches.
\nLate in the round, Sola sprawled on a single-leg takedown attempt
\nand blasted Bonfim with elbows until he went down in a daze.
\n
\nFrom there, he wrapped up the Brazilian\u2019s neck in a front headlock,
\nrolled with him and forced the tap at 4:44 of Round
\n1.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\nTuchalov outduels Ribeiro<\/h2>\n
\nMagomed
\nTuchalov<\/a> (6-0) made a successful Octagon debut and kept his
\nprofessional record spotless at the expense of Brendson
\nRibeiro<\/a> (17-11, 1 NC). Ribeiro came out with a confidence, and
\nhad success, that belied the nearly 8-to-1 odds in Tuchalov\u2019s
\nfavor. Both men landed their share of hard shots in Round 1, but
\nthe Brazilian may have sewn up the round by rocking Tuchalov late.
\nTuchalov got off to a much better start in Round 2, staggering
\nRibero with a left hand, slamming him to the canvas and going to
\nwork there, only to accidentally poke him in the eye, effectively
\nsnuffing out his own momentum. He scored with another easy takedown
\nand a flurry of ground punches in the closing seconds, however,
\nsealing up a clear round for himself. The third frame was another
\ncompetitive affair, and Ribeiro may have cost himself the round\u2014and
\nthe fight\u2014with an ill-advised takedown attempt after hurting
\nTuchalov with punches. Tuchalov reversed him and slammed him to the
\nfloor, then rode out the rest of the round without much suspense.
\nThe judges\u2019 decision was similarly free of suspense, as all three
\nsaw the fight for the Dagestani by identical 29-28 tallies.<\/p>\nUndefeated Aliev grinds down Davis<\/h2>\n
\nAliev<\/a> (12-0) was in classic form, using chain wrestling and
\ntop-position grappling to control and frustrate Mike Davis<\/a>
\n(12-4) for long stretches of their lightweight undercard bout. The
\nfirst round was a competitive affair, with Aliev applying a
\nrelentless wrestling assault that kept Davis either defending
\ntakedowns or trying to return to his feet for most of the five
\nminutes. Davis, despite being in reactive mode for most of the
\nround, nonetheless ended up doing more damage from the bottom than
\nAliev managed from the top. Perhaps in recognition of that dynamic,
\nthe \u201cTajik Eagle\u201d came out for the second frame bent on making his
\ntakedowns count, and pelted the American with some hard ground
\nshots in the first half of the round. The result was a round that
\nunquestionably favored Aliev. The final round offered more of the
\nsame: Aliev scored his seventh takedown of the fight in the first
\nminute, touching off another round in which the Tajik was the
\naggressor and firmly in control, but Davis did enough damage to
\nkeep the fight from turning into a rout. The final horn sounded on
\na last-second armbar attempt by Aliev, but the result was a
\nforegone conclusion. The official judges awarded the victory to
\nAliev by unanimous 30-27 scores, his fourth decision win to open
\nhis UFC run; Davis fell to 5-2 in the UFC in defeat.<\/p>\nDebuting Hussein outlasts Gibson<\/h2>\n
\nFighter\u201d Season 34 castoff Abdul
\nHussein<\/a> (16-2) became the second cast member to make it to the
\nUFC before the season finished airing. \u201cKing\u201d Hussein made the most
\nof the opportunity, tapping out Cody Gibson<\/a>
\n(21-13) in the third round. Gibson, who accepted the matchup on
\nshort notice, took the fight to Hussein right away, leveraging his
\nsignificant size advantage to push the sometime flyweight around,
\neventually dragging him to the canvas where he forced Hussein to
\ndefend himself from a long series of anaconda and brabo choke
\nattempts. The newcomer did survive however, and closed out the
\nfirst round on the feet, backing off a rapidly tiring Gibson. The
\nmomentum carried over to Round 2, as Hussein dropped him with a
\nhard counter right in the pocket within the first 45 seconds and
\npursued the finish on the ground. Gibson\u2019s veteran grit and poise
\nthen came into play, allowing him to ride out the round, surviving
\nmultiple submission attempts despite being visibly exhausted.
\nGibson came out gamely for the final frame, landing a calf kick
\nthat spun Hussein completely off his feet, but could not
\ncapitalize, and was swept quickly by his younger, fresher opponent.
\n
\nAfter a series of submission attempts, Hussein finally snared the
\nfatigued American in an arm-triangle choke, forcing the tap at 3:07
\nof Round 3.<\/a><\/strong> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"