UFC 252: Miocic vs. Cormier 3 - Predictions and Picks

#5 UFC Light-Heavyweight Division: Magomed Ankalaev vs. Ion Cutelaba

Magomed Ankalaev's first fight with Ion Cutelaba was perhaps the weirdest UFC clash of 2020 thus far

This one is a rematch of what was probably 2020’s weirdest fight. And given what’s happened this year, that’s saying a lot! Two of the UFC Light-Heavyweight division’s best prospects, the two men were matched up back in late February at UFC Fight Night 169.

It sounded like a fascinating fight pitting Ankalaev’s stoic style against Cutelaba’s sheer wildness, but nobody could’ve seen the levels of insanity that we got coming.

Things got weird before the fight had even begun. Cutelaba – who has a tendency to stare his opponent down from close range during the ring introductions – got a little too close for comfort as Bruce Buffer yelled his name.

And so, despite still maintaining a blank expression, Ankalaev grabbed him in a bodylock and spun him into the cage, forcing UFC officials to flood in to stop the fight from starting before it’d officially begun. Thankfully, cooler heads prevailed and the two men were separated. Somehow though, the weirdness wasn’t over.

When the fight began, the two simply traded strikes wildly, and it looked like Ankalaev had Cutelaba in trouble. While he was wobbled though, he certainly wasn’t out. Evidently, referee Kevin MacDonald decided otherwise though and stepped in to stop the fight after just 38 seconds. To say it was a poor stoppage would be an understatement.

Evidently, the UFC agreed, and thus the two have been rematched here. Hopefully, things can go a little more to plan this time – but who will win?

In the first fight, I picked Ankalaev, feeling that his powerful grappling would be enough to outwork the wilder Cutelaba for a decision. My worry was that the Dagestani would fold under the wild striking power of ‘The Hulk’ but based on the 38 seconds we saw, that wasn’t the case at all.

In fact, Ankalaev looked far sharper than Cutelaba standing, and even if MacDonald hadn’t stepped in, it certainly didn’t look like a fight he was about to lose. Add in the fact that he’s a truly monstrous grappler who seems to be able to take opponents down at will, and this looks like a bad match for ‘The Hulk’.

I don’t think it’ll go anywhere near as badly as the first fight did for him – how could it? – but I don’t see him having a lot of success. I don’t think he can out-grapple Ankalaev and by what we’ve now seen, I’m not sure he can outstrike him either. That all adds up to another UFC victory for the dangerous Dagestani.

The Pick: Ankalaev via unanimous decision