Magomed Ankalaev was announced to be returning at UFC 308 in October but the opponent had some left scratching their chins.
The 32-year old contender is ranked as the #2 in the division behind the former champion and the last man to challenge Alex Pereira for the light heavyweight title, Jiří Procházka.
Though he does have a no contest from his first fight with Johnny Walker and a draw against Jan Błachowicz, Ankalaev is undefeated since his UFC debut and has won ten in a row (excluding the two previously mentioned blemishes).
Following his win in a rematch with Walker earlier this year, many expected that Ankalaev would be next the title challenger after Jamahal Hill’s failed attempt to reclaim the belt at UFC 300.
Though it makes sense why Pereira would then instead be booked for a rematch with Procházka on late notice at UFC 303, Ankalaev would surely then be the next one up.
However, he is now set to face Aleksandar Rakić, who is coming off of a loss to Procházka, in Abu Dhabi.
Robert Whittaker Jokes That Magomed Ankalaev May Simply Not Be In The UFC’s Good Books
In a recent episode of his MMArcade Podcast, former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker gave his reaction to this fight being put together.
Whittaker, who will also feature on UFC 308 in a co-main event clash with Khamzat Chimaev over five rounds, was also surprised to see Ankalaev back in action against someone other than Pereira.
He laid out how there are two thought processes behind this fight with one being that “Poatan” has earned a rest and his number one contender would rather be active in the mean time.
Whittaker also laid out how this decision may have been made due to the relationship that Ankalaev currently has with the UFC, which has been rocky to say the least in recent years.
“Pereira deserves a break, he took that second fight with what’s his name and won it in outstanding fashion and then his toe was broken so he deserves a break. I guess I can look at it like… UFC really don’t like Ankalaev. Like when he fought against Błachowicz to that draw, they were just like cross his name out. They’re like yeah, like he didn’t have great rapport after that fight right. So that or it’s exactly as you said, Pereira needs some time out, Ankalaev doesn’t want to sit out forever. Or, bear with me here, they’re prepping him to fight Aspinall.”
