Chris Weidman defends Magomed Ankalaev’s performance at UFC Abu Dhabi

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Russia's Magomed Ankalaev and Uzbekistan's Bogdan Guskov compete in their men's light heavyweight fight in the UFC Fight Night event at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi on July 25, 2026. (Photo by Fadel SENNA / AFP via Getty Images) | AFP via Getty Images Magomed Ankalaev is catching a lot of heat for his performance this past weekend, and Chris Weidman thinks that’s misplaced. On Saturday, Ankalaev fought Bogdan Guskov in the main event of UFC Abu Dhabi, in one of the worst fights of 2026. For most of the fight, Ankalaev and Guskov circled the cage and barely engaged, ultimately ending in the fifth round when Ankalaev took Guskov down and scored a TKO with ground and pound. In the aftermath, fans and fighters were quick to trash the bout and Ankalaev’s performance, especially given that he already has a bit of a reputation for lacking excitement in his fights. But UFC Hall of Famer Chris Weidman thinks that’s not fair. “I think he’s as good as we always thought he was,” Weidman said on Deep Waters. “I think he’s very good, and so you want to see him go out there and just dominate this guy. The first couple of rounds, I think he was taking his time. The third round, I think he made a decision, realized that Bogdan isn’t going to, like, throw at him crazy and go to war with him. He tried to push the pace, he tried to look for the finish, and Guskov was running from him. He shot for a takedown and took him down super easy, ends up getting the finish by TKO. It wasn’t a super exciting fight, but I don’t think this one was his fault. I think it was Guskov’s fault.” “I don’t think it was his fault,” Weidman continued. “First couple rounds, five-round fight, you do have to pace yourself a little bit, feel it out. But he dominated the fight everywhere. This was the first time seeing him wrestle in a long time, and he looked great in the wrestling department.” Not many in the fanbase seem to share Weidman’s optimism, though, with fans and fighters freely bashing the fight and the performance. Which Weidman thinks is nuts, when you just think about what happened. “You know what’s crazy, we’re talking about this guy like it’s a negative,” Weidman said. “He finished a guy who’s very dangerous, so you’ve got to give him props. I feel like we’re being harder on him than most people because I think we realize he’s that good. The guy goes out there and gets a finish, and we’re still saying it was boring.” Ankalaev himself seems to recognize that despite winning, this performance probably didn’t do him any favors with the UFC or the fanbase. He also blamed the lack of action on Guskov’s unwillingness to engage, and then discussed fighting Paulo Costa next. But Weidman has another idea, one that seems impossible to deliver anything other than an action-packed fight: former champion Jiri Prochazka. “How about Jiri?” Weidman said when matchmaking for Ankalaev. “How about Jiri vs. Ankalaev for the true No. 1 contender? They haven’t fought yet. Jiri and Ankalaev, why don’t we just do that?” TOP STORIES Farewell. Conor McGregor teases ‘last dance’ in UFC, reveals ideal event for possible final UFC fight Plans. Islam Makhachev reveals his game plan for Ian Machado Garry at UFC 330: ‘I have to follow him, he runs too much.’ Serious. Dan Hooker says he’s been receiving ‘outrageous’ death threats after booking Salahdine Parnasse fight. 205. Carlos Ulberg lays out how he would book UFC light heavyweight title contender picture. Boxing. Dana White confirms interest in working with Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis: ‘We’ve talked to them.’ BKFC. Darren Till vs. Yoel Romero booked for BKFC event in Manchester. BTS. The Ultimate Insider: Behind the scenes of TUF 34, UFC hopefuls choose sleep over training. VIDEO STEW Islam Makhachev interview. Mighty Mouse is a Chanko fan. Starring Alex Pereira! The greatest first-round KOs in UFC history. FLAVOR IN YOUR EAR On to the Next One. The Best Friends Mike Heck and Alexander K. Lee discuss whether UFC Abu Dhabi main event winner Magomed Ankalaev has done enough to earn another title shot, plus more future matchups for Saturday’s winners. View Link SOCIAL MEDIA BOUILLABAISSE Sad. UFC couldn't find a replacement for Ante Delija so Johnny Walker is no longer fighting this weekend at UFC Belgrade, I'm told. — Guilherme Cruz (@guicruzzz) July 27, 2026 Paddy out here enjoying the win. View this post on Instagram Jake Paul on Dana. They went from shitting on all of the boxing sanctioning bodies and how they need to get rid of them for the good of boxing to now this. Truth is we need to further align promoters and the sanctioning bodies to create the biggest opportunities for boxers. That should be the… https://t.co/Ln1joFYqBx — Jake Paul (@jakepaul) July 27, 2026 Spot-on call. Maybe I’m alone but I love a stoppage where the vibe is: Ok that’s enough stop wasting these people’s time. https://t.co/MtkkxVbueF — Ben Fowlkes (@benfowlkesMMA) July 27, 2026 Nothing strange about that. Torres Finney was singing at a random wedding today 🤦😭😭 WTF pic.twitter.com/jMUUTlZyuN — Jaiden Cable (@Jaidencablee) July 27, 2026 Oh? I had a talk with dana today at the zuffa boxing ‼️‼️ Something is cooking — Damian The BabaYaga Pinas (@PinasDamian1) July 27, 2026 The Natural Born Potter. View this post on Instagram A reigning world champion and some guy in a yellow shirt. Ilia Topuria linked up with World Cup winner Ferran Torres in Ibiza this past weekend 👀 pic.twitter.com/L9kSyojIr3 — Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) July 27, 2026 It’s kind of shocking they haven’t already done this, considering how cheap kickboxing talent can be acquired for. Imaginez si l'UFC faisait une promotion de kickboxing avec le marketing de Powerslap et ZuffaBoxing ! KaratéCombat, Glory et One sont géniaux, mais il leur manque de prestige à mon avis. Chose que l'UFC semble capable de créer. Des fans de striking ici ? — Charles Jourdain (@JourdainUFC) July 27, 2026 Scott Coker making moves. 来週東京を訪れ、旧友と再会できることを楽しみにしています https://t.co/mTcA4IODEi — Scott Coker (@ScottCoker) July 27, 2026 Looks like he’s taking Conor Benn prep very seriously. Ryan Garcia just smashed a guitar over Joe Hendry at WWE Raw 💀 pic.twitter.com/QwZOpivGNG — Happy Punch (@HappyPunch) July 28, 2026 FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS Darren Till vs. Yoel Romero (bare-knuckle boxing); BKFC 94, Sept. 26 FEED ME MORE Who has the best ink? Mailbag. FINAL THOUGHTS Book Jiri vs. Ank because there’s no way it can be boring. If you find something you’d like to see in the Morning Report, hit up @AlexanderKLee or @JedKMeshew on Twitter and let us know about it. Also, follow MMAFighting on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Twitch, and like us on Facebook.