Magomed Ankalaev is coming off of a dominant victory against Volkan Oezdemir at UFC 267. The Russian surprised everyone by finding the advantage on the feet and dominating the fight.
The win is now his 7th in a row and moves his UFC record to 7-1. He lost his debut to Paul Craig by a, literally, last-second submission.
Magomed Ankalaev was satisfied with his performance against Oezdemir. There was a hiccup in the first round but he moved past it and put on an excellent performance against the Swiss fighter.
“In general, a win is a win, and I’m happy,” Ankalaev told reporters in Russian through a translator at the UFC 267 post-fight news conference (transcription via MMAJunkie). “There was a mistake in the first round. My coach always keeps telling me don’t go with him in the close exchanges. I did that and he hit me. So after that, I kept following my plan.”
After the win, Magomed Ankalaev is in a good spot to call his shot and ask for whatever he wants next. Normally, fighters call someone out.
Magomed Ankalaev prefers for someone to call him. That’s how confident he is in his abilities.
“My goal is the title,” Ankalaev said. “Let’s see if someone is going to call my name.”
It’s a bold move but not one likely to bear fruit. The division is in an interesting spot with Glover Teixeira becoming the new champion after beating Jan Blachowicz at UFC 267.
Let’s see if Magomed Ankalaev gets a number one contenders bout next.
Follow Us
Subscribe
