UFC Abu Dhabi results: Magomed Ankalaev manhandles Bogdan Guskov; Salahdine Parnasse to debut against Dan Hooker

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UFC Abu Dhabi results: Magomed Ankalaev manhandles Bogdan Guskov; Salahdine Parnasse to debut against Dan Hooker

Magomed Ankalaev came into Saturday needing to remind the world that he’s a top light heavyweight. Standing in the former champion’s way at UFC Abu Dhabi was short-notice replacement Bogdan Guskov, who came up short in the biggest opportunity of his career.

The main event matchup was a largely uneventful chase, with Ankalaev (22-2-1, 1 NC) in pursuit. Ankalaev worked his kicking game to maintain a healthy distance throughout the fight, notably launching his side kick to great effect. Straight punches down the pipe bothered Guskov (18-4-1) occasionally, as he failed to mount any offense whatsoever.

Ankalaev went immediately to his wrestling to start Rounds 4 and 5 and kept the action on the mat. It wasn’t until midway through the final round that referee Marc Goddard decided he’d seen enough punches land with no intelligent defense from Guskov; Ankalaev officially earned the stoppage win at 2:41 of the fifth round.

Ankalaev, 34, now hopes to reclaim the title he lost to Alex Pereira in October 2025.

“I was out for a long time, I had to come back,” Ankalaev said in his post-fight interview. “Now I’m back. Now I’m going to start my hunt for that thing that I lost.”

The win gets Ankalaev back on track after Pereira snapped the Russian’s 14-fight unbeaten streak, stretching back to Ankalaev’s UFC debut in 2018.

For Guskov, the loss is only the second of his Octagon career. He entered Saturday on a 4-0-1 UFC run since falling short in his 2023 debut against Volkan Oezdemir.

UFC Abu Dhabi’s co-main event delivered fast fireworks in the flyweight division.

Unranked up-and-comer Ramazan Temirov (20-2) wasted no time bursting past Steve Erceg (14-5) to score a huge upset knockout. The former RIZIN contender should find himself with a ranking next to his name come next week after the impressive finish.

Temirov earned a $100,000 Performance of the Night bonus for his efforts. The other bonus went to Valter Walker, who scored a first-round calf slicer on Thomas Petersen — his fifth consecutive leg-submission win.

Fight of the Night honors went to the other heavyweight bout between Rizvan Kuniev (14-3-1, 1 NC) and Tyrell Fortune (18-4, 2 NC).

Kuniev walked away victorious, stopping Fortune with strikes in Round 3.

To look ahead, the promotion used Saturday’s broadcast to announce UFC Paris’ main event for Sept. 5. Highly touted former KSW multi-division champion Salahdine Parnasse (23-2) has signed with the promotion and will be welcomed to the lightweight ranks against Dan Hooker (24-14).

France’s Parnasse most recently fought on the MVP MMA card in May, finishing Kenneth Cross with strikes.

Check out complete UFC Abu Dhabi: Ankalaev vs. Guskov results and highlights below, as well as Uncrowned’s round-by-round play-by-play for the main card.

Main Card

Light Heavyweight: Magomed Ankalaev def. Bogdan Guskov via TKO (punches) at 2:41 of R5 | Watch finish

Flyweight: Ramazan Temirov def. Steve Erceg via KO (punches) at 4:21 of R1 | Watch finish

Lightweight: Magomed Zaynukov def. Damian Rzepecki via unanimous decision (30-27 All)

Heavyweight: Rizvan Kuniev def. Tyrell Fortune via TKO (knees) at 1:12 of R3 | Watch finish

Welterweight: Abubakar Vagaev def. Saygid Izagakhmaev via unanimous decision (29-28 All)

Preliminary Card

Heavyweight: Valter Walker def. Thomas Petersen via submission (calf slicer) at 1:32 of R1 | Watch finish

Light Heavyweight: Muhammad Saidov def. Dustin Jacoby via TKO (head kick and punches) at 4:49 of R2 | Watch finish

Welterweight: Sam Patterson def. Santiago Ponzinibbio via TKO (punches) at 3:06 of R2 | Watch finish

Lightweight: Axel Sola def. Ismael Bonfim via submission (d’arce choke) at 4:44 of R1 | Watch finish

Light Heavyweight: Magomed Tuchalov def. Brendson Ribeiro via unanimous decision (29-28 All)

Lightweight: Nurullo Aliev def. Mike Davis via unanimous decision (30-27 All)

Bantamweight: Abdul Hussein def. Cody Gibson via submission (arm triangle choke) at 3:07 of R1 | Watch finish

Live coverage is over65 updates

Sat, July 25, 2026 at 12:02 PM PDT
Drake Riggs
Sat, July 25, 2026 at 11:56 AM PDT
Drake Riggs
Sat, July 25, 2026 at 11:55 AM PDT
Drake Riggs
Sat, July 25, 2026 at 11:53 AM PDT
Drake Riggs

Ankalaev dives in for another early takedown, but gets caught in an anaconda choke! The scare is brief, as Ankalaev slips out to retake control and get into half guard. Guskov tries to escape, and gets pulled backward into a side control position. He’s just covering and defending short elbows. Punches get added to the mix, as Guskov turtles a bit. Ankalaev keeps punching. The ref warns Guskov, and then he waves it off. TKO win in a dominant effort from Ankalaev.
Sat, July 25, 2026 at 11:50 AM PDT
Drake Riggs

Ankalaev dives in on a single leg to start the round and gets it with ease. They work from half guard, as Ankalaev looks for short punches. Ankalaev is mostly just riding position until Guskov gives up his neck! Ankalaev seeks the rear-naked choke. Guskov fights it off and starts to take more punches. Ankalaev teases a face crank, but Guskov turns to go to his back in mount. Pure Ankalaev dominance.

10-8 Ankalaev. (40-35 Ankalaev.)
Sat, July 25, 2026 at 11:43 AM PDT
Drake Riggs

Ankalaev inches forward. He wants the head kick, but isn’t mixing it in with any punches or other kicks. Guskov paws out his jab. Nothing comes with it. A tight straight left lands from Ankalaev. Guskov starts to get his leg chopped at. They trade lackadaisical leg kicks. Commentary is completely distracted. Guskov isn’t throwing anything at this point, other than some timid leg kicks, while Ankalaev tries to punch forward periodically. A nice left hook lands against the cage late, and that round was a round.

10-9 Ankalaev. (30-27 Ankalaev.)
Sat, July 25, 2026 at 11:37 AM PDT
Drake Riggs

The front kick continues to lead Ankalaev’s offense. He goes back to the side kick. A nice straight left down the middle lands for Ankalaev. Guskov gets grazed by a head kick. Guskov punches to the body before he takes a straight up high. Then another. Ankalaev backs up Guskov. A right straight from Guskov lands clean, prompting the first Ankalaev shot of the fight. Guskov defends to start their clinch exchange against the fence. Ankalaev seeks a spinning back elbow on the break, but misses before the round ends.

10-9 Ankalaev. (20-18 Ankalaev.)
Sat, July 25, 2026 at 11:31 AM PDT
Drake Riggs

Ankalaev hits the calf kick to start the fight. Guskov fires back shortly after. He taps with another. Ankalaev moves to a side push kick. Ankalaev starts to connect with some clean punches upstairs. He digs with a push kick, then another side kick. He’s going to that one more now. A lot of pace dictating and range finding so far. Guskov is really sticking his fingers directly at Ankalaev, which gets called out by Marc Goddard. Guskov kicks low, while Ankalaev goes high in return. A push kick meets the belly of Guskov. A patient opening round that ends with a big Ankalaev blitz of punches.

10-9 Ankalaev.
Sat, July 25, 2026 at 11:19 AM PDT
Drake Riggs

I’ve enjoyed Guskov’s rise, but this is Ankalaev’s fight to lose and there’s no way around it.

Let’s get the obvious out of the way: Ankalaev is the one who prepared and trained for a five-round main event, while Guskov enters on short notice after Rountree’s withdrawal only one week ago.

Ankalaev has been through the fire as a proven, consistent, elite light heavyweight. The former champion is often misconstrued to be a grappler first; really, he’s one of the most technical and sharpest strikers in the division. He’s patient and possesses knockout power that relies heavily on his accuracy. There’s no going out on his shield for “Big Ank.” And if things don’t happen to be working on the feet to the best of their ability, he switches things up and goes to the wrestling well that he does possess.

The Pereira loss may have made people forget that Ankalaev really is one of the best fighters on Earth, but make no mistake, he’ll show it again on Saturday.

Despite that, Guskov has a chance here. He’s been a consistent finisher, both with knockouts and submissions. If you invite a brawl, he’ll oblige and likely take over. However, his draw with Jan Blachowicz in his last fight still leaves a bad taste in the mouth. The 43-year-old former champion shouldn’t have been nearly as competitive with Guskov as he was, and he fought with a game plan that Ankalaev can easily exploit.

Guskov could be the future, but this matchup has all the makings of a crucial learning experience. “Big Ank” is back, folks.

Pick: Ankalaev
Sat, July 25, 2026 at 11:15 AM PDT
Drake Riggs

One of the best lightweights outside of the UFC, Salahdine Parnasse, is no longer outside the UFC. Parnasse will make his debut against Dan Hooker in UFC Paris’ main event.
Sat, July 25, 2026 at 11:08 AM PDT
Drake Riggs
Sat, July 25, 2026 at 11:04 AM PDT
Drake Riggs
Sat, July 25, 2026 at 11:01 AM PDT
Drake Riggs

Temirov blasts Erceg to the mat with a big spinning back kick to the gut! Another one lands, connecting the knee to Erceg’s face on a retaliating takedown! Wow. Erceg is backed up. A big overhand right comes his way. Temirov goes for another spin. Temirov lands a short left hook. Erceg does his best to fire off a one-two in reaction to the big Temirov whiffs. They trade jabs and just start winging for a minute. Erceg absorbs some heavy body shots in tight against the cage. Temirov lands a big right hand, then drops Erceg with follow-up shots! He’s slinging! Rights are clubbing Erceg! Another staggers him! And another! Down goes Erceg! Faceplant! Wow!
Sat, July 25, 2026 at 10:48 AM PDT
Drake Riggs

The flyweight division can do no wrong right now. UFC’s lightest crop of men’s talent may very well be the promotion’s hottest and best weight class in 2026.

Ramazan Temirov is the human equivalent of a loaded spring. The guy is consistently coiled, jam-packed, ready to unleash every ounce of power in his body. In this position, he has a major opportunity to catapult himself into the upper echelon of the division by catapulting his fists through Steve Erceg’s face.

“Astro Boy” has been one of the cleanest boxers 125 pounds has to offer. Though his trajectory seemed to fall off a cliff following his title fight loss in May 2024, Erceg finally climbed back into the win column last year. He now rides a two-fight win streak into this matchup and has his work cut out for him, playing the role of the technical veteran.

There realistically shouldn’t be much grappling in this fight. Temirov brings the power and aggression that can play into his demise against someone like Erceg. He’s been dropped in his career before, after all. But explosivity like Temirov’s is just one hell of a trait to possess in this division, and if it does hit the mat, Temirov is explosive there too.

Pick: Temirov
Sat, July 25, 2026 at 10:44 AM PDT
Drake Riggs
Sat, July 25, 2026 at 10:43 AM PDT
Drake Riggs
Sat, July 25, 2026 at 10:40 AM PDT
Drake Riggs
Sat, July 25, 2026 at 10:38 AM PDT
Drake Riggs

Rzepecki eats an early right straight before a very brief takedown scramble attempt. Chanco attacks the legs with his push kick like at the start of the fight. Rzepecki presses in again to clinch against the cage. He lets it go, but stays on Chanco. He doesn’t really know where to start his combos, if anywhere. A cracking elbow collides with the head of Rzepecki before another clinch engagement. There’s no effective offense coming at Chanco right now. Rzepecki gets hit with a nasty front kick to the face before another elbow. He rushes in to clinch again. Rzepecki attacks the body with punches, taking a knee in return. They break, and Rzepecki takes another nasty front kick. Chanco fakes a takedown to sneak up a cracking elbow. Brilliant stuff. A hard left hand and front kick clang the target. Chanco scores a late takedown for a brief moment, cracking Rzepecki with a right straight. Fight ends. Great effort from both.

10-9 Zaynukov. (30-27 Zaynukov.)
Sat, July 25, 2026 at 10:32 AM PDT
Drake Riggs

Rzepecki rushes in to start exchanges and gets his head snapped back with a right. Chanco fires off a quick combo. Rzepecki level changes to try and get a takedown, only to be reversed and taken down right in guard. Rzepecki works to his feet and grazes with a spinning back elbow. He just evades a potentially fatal head kick before they tie up. A hard body kick lands for Rzepecki. They trade right hands until working back in the clinch, where Chanco gets back to his solid elbow work. A big one on the break hurts Rzepecki! He defends by pursuing a takedown. He’s just holding to regather himself now. Any time Chanco makes space, it’s an elbow feast for Rzepecki. They separate, only for Rzepecki to keep going into the clinch. He eats a straight right and an elbow. A head kick now from Chanco. More elbows late. Time expires.

10-9 Zaynukov. (20-18 Zaynukov.)
Sat, July 25, 2026 at 10:26 AM PDT
Drake Riggs

Pork time! Chanco opens with a series of stabbing leg kicks before they clinch. Nice elbows land for Chanco until Rzepecki backs him to the cage with double underhooks. Chanco escapes the lock to keep fighting for position. Chanco escapes by going for a trip that breaks Rzepecki’s lock. Rzepecki lands a lunging right hand. A nice quick exchange sees Rzepecki land a short shot. More elbows land in tight from Chanco before he finds a body lock. Rzepecki defends and retakes cage control. They jockey for position. Chanco finds a moment to break and lands a short left hook. He fires off a step elbow that touches the Rzepecki guard. A nasty eye poke then greets Rzepecki to immediately halt the action. That was one of the filthiest eye pokes we’ve seen in recent memory.

“First and last warning,” says Marc Goddard, as the action resumes.

Rzepecki gets right to pressuring — and stance switching. He eats a left hook, turning it into a very nice sweep. Chanco works to his feet and stumbles Rzepecki with another shot on the break. Time expires. Very close round.

10-9 Zaynukov.