RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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Daniel Cormier thinks Magomed Ankalaev 's late finish at UFC Fight Night 282 was the difference between getting a title shot and not.
Ankalaev (22-2-1 MMA, 13-2-1 UFC) dominated Bogdan Guskov (18-4-1 MMA, 4-2-1 UFC) for a fifth-round TKO in Saturday's headliner in Abu Dhabi to bounce back from dropping the light heavyweight belt to Alex Pereira in October. Since then, Carlos Ulberg has taken possession of the belt, and it's an open conversation as to who will be his first challenger.
Although the performance from Ankalaev received some backlash, Cormier said it must be noted that the Russian was the primary aggressor against Guskov, who shrivelled under the spotlight of his first octagon main event.
"Ankalaev needed a finish," Cormier said on his YouTube channel . "When you fight a guy that's ranked No. 9 in the world, and you are the No. 1 ranked contender, a former champion, you've got to finish those guys. Ankalaev ultimately did that. We were judging him pretty harshly in the fight watching, because it was a slow affair. But then midway through the second round he realized Bogdan Guskov was not engaging with Magomed Ankalaev. Ankalaev was pursuing him. He was trying to make it a fun fight. Guskov was unwilling to do that by backing up and skirting the outside of the octagon.
"Ankalaev lost his belt in devastating fashion to Alex Pereira at UFC 320. He's been gone for a very long time, said he made a bunch of changes to his training camp, and honestly, his aggressiveness in the octagon showed he felt like he could get a finish, or he's done something differently to try to pursue finishes."
With the champion Ulberg (13-1 MMA, 10-1 UFC) currently recovering from an ACL tear sustained in his incredible title-winning knockout of Jiri Prochazka at UFC 327 in April, the UFC is not under pressure to declare a new matchup for the belt.
UFC Hall of Famer and color commentator Cormier thinks Ankalaev is right at the forefront of the pecking order, though, and thinks his push to finish Guskov with less than three minutes remaining, could carry his case over the edge.
"The light heavyweight division is in a weird place right now because it's got a new champion," Cormier said. "Alex Pereira is up at heavyweight. Jamahal Hill is up at heavyweight. So a lot of the guys that have fought for the belt are out of the weight class and we haven't seen as many young challengers show themselves to be ready.
"Ankalaev getting that finish might have legitimately gotten him another opportunity to fight for the UFC championship against the new champion, Carlos Ulberg, when he comes back. He says he wants to be back early next year."
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Daniel Cormier likes Magomed Ankalaev's case for title shot after UFC Abu Dhabi
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