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#6 UFC Light Heavyweight division: Magomed Ankalaev vs. Ion Cutelaba

Magomed Ankalaev's first fight with Ion Cutelaba was hugely controversial.

Incredibly, this marks the fifth time that the UFC have booked Ankalaev and Cutelaba to fight in 2020. The first time was way back in February, before COVID-19 and all of the issues that the virus has brought. At the time, it felt like a clash of two of the UFC Light Heavyweight division’s top prospects.

Unfortunately, though, it quickly became one of the most controversial fights in UFC history. The two men initially clashed during the in-cage introductions and were separated, and then worse was to come. Ankalaev appeared to have hurt Cutelaba with a series of strikes, but when ref Kevin MacDonald stepped in to stop the fight, it was clear that The Hulk wasn’t finished.

It was an odd stoppage that never really made sense, and so the UFC booked a rematch at UFC 249, on its initial April booking. That fell through along with the whole card when COVID-19 struck, so the UFC attempted to re-book it twice since.

However, two positive COVID-19 tests for Cutelaba put paid to both bookings, and so we’ve arrived here. Hopefully, it’ll be fifth time lucky for the two rising 205lbers.

So can The Hulk gain some manner of revenge for that odd stoppage back in February? I wouldn’t count on it. Prior to the first meeting, the feeling was that Ankalaev would look to use his powerful wrestling to neutralize the striking of Cutelaba.

When it came down to it, though, the Dagestani simply fought fire with fire, swung heavy shots back at Cutelaba, and came out on top. Sure, the stoppage was awful, but there was no doubt who was in control of the fight at the time.

Cutelaba has the punching power to turn around any fight, and if he can catch Ankalaev, then he can definitely knock him out. But given the Dagestani’s powerful grappling, it’s more likely that The Hulk just has too much to worry about here to really open up with his dangerous combinations.

And even if he can, judging by their first fight, it’s unlikely that the stoic Ankalaev will wilt under pressure. With that in mind then, I suspect we’ll see the result that I predicted back in February. That will probably involve Ankalaev mixing his striking in with his takedowns, grounding Cutelaba, and working him over for a unanimous decision win.

The Pick: Ankalaev via unanimous decision