Who will Magomed Ankalaev 🇷🇺#1 fight next?
Not confirmed as of 1 Oct 2026: no opponent or date has been officially announced.
Most likely Carlos Ulberg (40%), Early 2027 (Ulberg's return target). Nothing announced.. Next: Paulo Costa (10%).
Latest status: Last fight: Beat Bogdan Guskov (KO/TKO, UFC Fight Night, 25 Jul 2026). No fight announced.
Updated (UAE time) · Percentages are NextSmash model estimates, not facts or betting advice.
Forecast: likely opponents Model estimate
Each percentage is the estimated chance of being his next opponent. These are not chances of winning.
- 40%chance next opponent#1 contender. The champion named him as a likely first challenger once he's back from knee surgery (early 2027).Likely event: Early 2027 (Ulberg's return target). Nothing announced.
- 10%chance next opponentAnkalaev suggested Costa for an interim title while Ulberg is out. Bloody Elbow calls a quick booking unlikely.
Field / other: 50%. This covers everyone not listed above.
- Likely event
- Early 2027 (Ulberg's return target). Nothing announced.
- Last fight
- Win vs Bogdan Guskov · KO/TKO R5 2:41 · UFC Fight Night · 25 Jul 2026
- Career stage
- Won last fight.
- Confidence
- Low (High = officially booked · Medium = reported or a fighter's own claim · Low = model only)
- Last updated
- (UAE time)
What changed?
- Boxing News: Ulberg confirms early-2027 return after ACL injury · source
- Bloody Elbow: Ulberg plans early-2027 return, calls Ankalaev a top contender · source
Only dated items with a source are listed: news reports used for the estimate, plus changes to our logged estimates.
Fight history Pro record 22-2-1 (1 NC)
| Result | Opponent | Method | Rd | Time | Event | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | Bogdan Guskov 🇺🇿 | KO/TKO · R5, 2:41 | 5 | 2:41 | UFC Fight Night: Ankalaev vs. Guskov | |
| L | Alex Pereira 🇧🇷 | KO/TKO · R1, 1:20 | 1 | 1:20 | UFC 320: Ankalaev vs. Pereira 2 | |
| W | Alex Pereira 🇧🇷 | Decision (unanimous) · R5, 5:00 | 5 | 5:00 | UFC 313: Pereira vs. Ankalaev | |
| W | Aleksandar Rakic 🇷🇸 | Decision (unanimous) · R3, 5:00 | 3 | 5:00 | UFC 308: Topuria vs. Holloway | |
| W | Johnny Walker 🇧🇷 | KO/TKO · R2, 2:42 | 2 | 2:42 | UFC Fight Night: Ankalaev vs. Walker 2 | |
| NC | Johnny Walker 🇧🇷 | No Contest · R1, 3:13 | 1 | 3:13 | UFC 294: Makhachev vs. Volkanovski 2 | |
| D | Jan Blachowicz | Draw · R5, 5:00 | 5 | 5:00 | UFC 282: Blachowicz vs. Ankalaev | |
| W | Anthony Smith | KO/TKO · R2, 3:09 | 2 | 3:09 | UFC 277: Peña vs. Nunes 2 | |
| W | Thiago Santos | Decision (unanimous) · R5, 5:00 | 5 | 5:00 | UFC Fight Night: Santos vs. Ankalaev | |
| W | Volkan Oezdemir 🇨🇭 | Decision (unanimous) · R3, 5:00 | 3 | 5:00 | UFC 267: Blachowicz vs. Teixeira | |
| W | Nikita Krylov 🇷🇺 | Decision (unanimous) · R3, 5:00 | 3 | 5:00 | UFC Fight Night: Rozenstruik vs. Gane | |
| W | Ion Cutelaba | KO/TKO · R1, 4:19 | 1 | 4:19 | UFC 254: Khabib vs. Gaethje | |
| W | Ion Cutelaba | KO/TKO · R1, 0:38 | 1 | 0:38 | UFC Fight Night: Benavidez vs. Figueiredo | |
| W | Dalcha Lungiambula | KO/TKO · R3, 0:29 | 3 | 0:29 | UFC Fight Night: Zabit vs. Kattar | |
| W | Klidson Abreu | Decision (unanimous) · R3, 5:00 | 3 | 5:00 | UFC Fight Night: Blachowicz vs. Santos |
Show all 26 fights
| Result | Opponent | Method | Rd | Time | Event | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | Marcin Prachnio | KO/TKO · R1, 3:09 | 1 | 3:09 | UFC Fight Night: Hunt vs. Oleinik | |
| L | Paul Craig | Submission · R3, 4:59 | 3 | 4:59 | UFC Fight Night: Werdum vs. Volkov | |
| W | Celso Ricardo da Silva | KO · R1, 1:09 | 1 | 1:09 | WFCA 43: Grozny Battle | |
| W | Wagner Prado | KO/TKO · R1, 3:33 | 1 | 3:33 | WFCA 38: Grozny Battle | |
| W | Maxim Grishin | TKO · R4, 1:13 | 4 | 1:13 | WFCA 30: 2016 WFC Akhmat Grand Prix Final | |
| W | Artur Astakhov | Decision (unanimous) · R3, 5:00 | 3 | 5:00 | WFCA 23: Grand Prix Akhmat | |
| W | Lloyd Marshbanks | TKO · R1, 0:15 | 1 | 0:15 | WFCA 17: Grand Prix Akhmat | |
| W | Nadyr Bulkadarov | TKO · R1, 4:45 | 1 | 4:45 | Russian MMA Union - 2015 Russian MMA Super Cup | |
| W | Dovlet Yagshimuradov | Decision (unanimous) · R3, 5:00 | 3 | 5:00 | OC: Oplot Challenge 103 | |
| W | Denic Strahinja | Decision (unanimous) · R3, 5:00 | 3 | 5:00 | TFC: Tesla Fighting Championship 4 | |
| W | Vasily Babich | Decision (majority) · R3, 5:00 | 3 | 5:00 | OC: Oplot Challenge 96 |
Professional MMA bouts only, newest first. Source: ESPN (checked 2 Oct 2026). ESPN list used because Wikipedia's list is missing bouts.
Magomed Ankalaev: frequently asked questions
When is Magomed Ankalaev's next fight?
No fight is officially booked as of 1 Oct 2026. Our outlook: Early 2027 (Ulberg's return target). Nothing announced.
Who did Magomed Ankalaev fight last?
Magomed Ankalaev beat Bogdan Guskov at UFC Fight Night on 25 Jul 2026 (KO/TKO R5 2:41).
Who is Magomed Ankalaev likely to fight next?
NextSmash model estimate: Carlos Ulberg (40%), Paulo Costa (10%). Updated 1 Oct 2026. These are estimates, not facts or betting advice.
What is Magomed Ankalaev's record?
22-2-1 (wins-losses-draws) in professional MMA, as listed on UFC.com (checked 1 Oct 2026).
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Other light heavyweight fighters
- Carlos Ulberg C next: Magomed Ankalaev 40%
- Jiří Procházka #2 next: Navajo Stirling Booked
- Alex Pereira #3 next: Sergei Pavlovich 35%
- Khalil Rountree Jr. #4 next: Paulo Costa 18%
- Navajo Stirling #5 next: Jiří Procházka Booked
More: Light Heavyweight rankings and next fights · Russia UFC fighters
Sources
- UFC.com athlete profile (record, rank, last fight) · 1 Oct 2026
- UFC.com rankings (Media + Meta), checked 1 Oct 2026 · 1 Oct 2026
- ESPN fighter profile (country, fight history) · 1 Oct 2026
- Bloody Elbow: Ulberg plans early-2027 return, calls Ankalaev a top contender · 26 Jul 2026
- Boxing News: Ulberg confirms early-2027 return after ACL injury · 1 Oct 2026
Percentages are NextSmash model estimates from the factors shown above (see methodology). They are not facts, and not betting advice. Records and ranks come from UFC.com; country from ESPN. Checked 1 Oct 2026.