Magomed Ankalaev was one of the fastest-rising contenders in the UFC until he fought Thiago Santos. The Russian was aiming for a fight with Anthony Smith next and thought he was close to a title shot.

Magomed Ankalaev lost a lot of steam after fighting Thiago Santos and he's no longer seen as the threat that he was. The UFC light heavyweight is still hoping for a fight with Anthony Smith.

Anthony Smith recently dropped quite the truth bomb on Magomed Ankalaev after his last fight. The UFC light heavyweight spoke about it with MMAFighting on The Fighter vs The Write podcast.

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“He’s not the boogeyman that everyone keeps talking about. I’ve been saying that for a long time. Is he good? One hundred percent! He’s solid, he doesn’t make a lot of mistakes, he doesn’t have any glaring holes in his game at all, but he’s not the boogeyman that everyone made him out to be. People have been saying, ‘Anthony’s ducking him.’ I’m not ducking that dude, come on. I’ve got 50 something fights. I’m not ducking anybody. I’m just not singing his praises because I’m not that impressed.”

Anthony Smith did not hold back as he talked about Magomed Ankalaev losing his boogeyman status in the UFC. It happens as fighters face stiffer competition and face particular matchups that don't make them look good.

It will have to be seen if the UFC has any interest in booking Magomed Ankalaev against Anthony Smith next. It certainly seems like both men want the fight to happen next.