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This weekend sees the UFC return to Las Vegas for its latest Fight Night event. Unlike some of its predecessors, this card is a very strong one.
While it doesn’t feature a title bout or any of the promotion’s biggest names, there are still plenty of reasons to watch UFC Fight Night: Thiago Santos vs. Magomed Ankalaev.
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These range from seeing some of the top contenders in the promotion in action, to potentially classic brawls between some of the promotion’s wildest fighters.
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With that in mind, here are five reasons to watch UFC Fight Night: Thiago Santos vs. Magomed Ankalaev this weekend.
#5. Sodiq Yusuff vs. Alex Caceres is one of the most interesting UFC featherweight bouts in some time
The UFC’s featherweight division is not short on exciting prospects and contenders right now. This past weekend saw Bryce Mitchell climb the ladder with a tremendous win over Edson Barboza. Two more of the division’s top 15 are in action this weekend.
No.12-ranked Sodiq Yusuff is set to face No.15 Alex Caceres. While neither man is likely to receive a title shot with a win, if they impress enough, they could well find themselves in the top 10 come next week.
Caceres has been with the promotion since 2010, but ‘Bruce Leeroy’ is currently on the best run of his career. He’s riding a five-fight win streak and has lost just once since the start of 2018. Sure, his wins weren’t over top contenders, but they have been impressive nonetheless.
Yusuff, meanwhile, is coming off a loss to top 10-ranked Arnold Allen. Prior to that, he’d put together five wins in a row in the octagon. The native of Nigeria possesses some of the heaviest hands in the world at 145 pounds. If he can connect cleanly, he’s capable of knocking anyone out.
Like Mitchell vs. Barboza, this one promises to be a striker vs. grappler battle. While the grappler won that one, it’s likely that Yusuff – the striker – will be favored here.
Regardless, this should produce some great action in the octagon, and it’s undoubtedly one of the best featherweight fights put together in recent times – making it a must-watch clash.
#4. Marlon Moraes might be on the cusp of his last stand in the UFC
If you rewind just three short years, it’s arguable that Marlon Moraes was the hottest bantamweight competing in the UFC. The former World Series of Fighting champion arrived in the octagon in 2018 and after narrowly losing his debut fight, he then reeled off four straight wins. They included a knockout of then-future champion Aljamain Sterling.
However, Moraes fell to Henry Cejudo in his attempt to claim the UFC bantamweight title. Since then, he’s fallen on pretty hard times. His only victory in the years that have followed came over Jose Aldo and that was a controversial split decision.
Right now, ‘Magic’ is on a three-fight skid. While it’s true that he was doing well against Merab Dvalishvili before being caught out, he still suffered his third TKO stoppage in a row.
When you consider that he’s 33 years old and has been fighting professionally since 2007, it’s likely that his bout against Song Yadong this weekend could be his last stand in the octagon.
The stylistic match favors the Brazilian, but with his back to the wall, can he really pull out the win that he needs in order to continue his run in the world’s biggest promotion? It’s a fair question to ask, meaning that his bout this weekend is definitely not one to miss.
#3. Drew Dober vs. Terrance McKinney is likely to produce a war
While he’s never ascended into contention for the lightweight title, Drew Dober has been one of the most exciting fighters to watch in the UFC for some time now. Win or lose, the native of Omaha comes to throw down. His battles with Alexander Hernandez, Polo Reyes and Frank Camacho have been amongst the best in recent memory.
Initially, this weekend would’ve seen him faced with Ricky Glenn. However, with ‘The Gladiator’ out with an injury, Dober instead finds himself against hot prospect Terrance McKinney.
It’s hard to say whether this is better or worse for Dober. On one hand, McKinney has taken this bout on super-late notice, having only fought two weeks ago. That means he may not be well-prepared.
On the other hand, ‘T-Wrecks’ is riding a wave of momentum and has won his first two octagon bouts in less than three minutes combined.
So who will come out on top in this one? It’s hard to say and that’s what makes it such an intriguing fight. Either way, though, if you judge by what McKinney has done thus far into his octagon career and what Dober tends to produce, it could provide us with fireworks.
#2. Alex Pereira is a major prospect in the middleweight division
Few prospects have debuted in the UFC with more fanfare than Alex Pereira received last September and it was with good reason.
Not only was ‘Po Atan’ bringing a reputation as one of the world’s best kickboxers into the octagon with him, he also came in as the only man to ever knock out current middleweight kingpin Israel Adesanya – having defeated him twice in the ring between 2016 and 2017.
That meant that there was a lot of pressure on the Brazilian in his first trip to the octagon. He delivered the goods entirely, taking out Andreas Michailidis with a brutal flying knee in the second round.
This weekend sees ‘Po Atan’ return to action for the first time since then and it’s fair to say that he’s receiving quite the step up in competition. Opponent Bruno Silva only debuted in the UFC in 2021, but he’s already 3-0 in the promotion, stopping all three opponents via TKO.
We’ve seen world-class kickboxers taken out in the octagon on a number of occasions before. Gokhan Saki falling to Khalil Rountree via TKO comes to mind, for instance. So there’s no doubt that this is a dangerous bout for Pereira.
However, if ‘Po Atan’ can win, it’d be hard not to see him as the middleweight division’s top prospect. It’d also be hard not to start dreaming of a rematch between him and Adesanya That makes his bout this weekend an unmissable one.
#1. Magomed Ankalaev may be the UFC’s best 205lber
The UFC’s light heavyweight division is in a peculiar place right now. Since the departure of legendary former champion Jon Jones, it’s arguable that nobody has really established themselves as the most dominant fighter at 205 pounds.
The current champion in the division is Glover Teixeira. As he’s already 42 years old and has suffered plenty of losses over the years, he certainly doesn’t feel invulnerable.
Teixeira is set to defend his title against Jiri Prochazka in a few months' time, but this weekend sees a fighter in action who could well prove himself to be the best in the division in the future.
That fighter is Magomed Ankalaev, who arrived in the octagon in 2018 with a stellar reputation from the Russian circuit. Since then, the native of Dagestan has gone 7-1 and is currently riding a seven-fight win streak, with four of those wins coming via KO or TKO.
When you consider that Ankalaev’s biggest strength is his wrestling and grappling ability, that makes him a very dangerous opponent for basically anyone in the division.
This weekend sees the Dagestani face off with Thiago Santos. If he can take out the former title challenger in impressive fashion, it’s hard not to imagine Ankalaev fighting for the gold, if not winning it, before the end of 2022.
That means that his fight with ‘Marreta’ could be the final hurdle on his path to the top, making it a must-see fare for any UFC fan.
