UFC Predictions: UFC Fight Night: Thiago Santos vs. Magomed Ankalaev

This weekend sees the UFC return to Las Vegas for its latest Fight Night event. While it lacks a bout with immediate title implications, it’s actually a very deep card.

UFC Fight Night: Thiago Santos vs. Magomed Ankalaev not only features a tremendous headliner, but there are plenty of other excellent fights on tap as well. With a number of fighters looking to move up the rankings after this weekend, this event is one that can’t be missed.

Here are the predicted outcomes for UFC Fight Night: Thiago Santos vs. Magomed Ankalaev.

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#1. UFC light heavyweight: Thiago Santos vs. Magomed Ankalaev

Magomed Ankalaev could claim a title shot with a victory over Thiago Santos this weekend

This light heavyweight bout promises to not only be an entertaining one, but could also have major implications for the future of the UFC light heavyweight title.

Current champion Glover Teixeira is all set to defend against top contender Jiri Prochazka in June. When that fight is done, there’s no clear-cut challenger.

That means that if he can defeat a former UFC title challenger in Thiago Santos here, Magomed Ankalaev could well find himself at the front of the queue.

Another product of Dagestan’s seemingly never-ending conveyor belt of great fighters, Ankalaev has been with the promotion since early 2018. Since then, he’s put together a record of 7-1 and would have a perfect octagon record were it not for a single moment of misjudgement in his debut against Paul Craig.

Like his countrymen Khabib Nurmagomedov and Islam Makhachev, Ankalaev’s major strength is his wrestling. For the most part, whenever he’s wanted to take an opponent down, he’s been able to do it, using a combination of explosive double legs and trips from the clinch.

However, unlike those two fighters, Ankalaev also has a brutal striking game. We saw this in his knockouts of Ion Cutelaba, Marcin Prachnio and Dalcha Lungiambula. He also comfortably outstruck UFC veteran Volkan Oezdemir in their bout last year.

Does he have any real weaknesses? Aside from a penchant for perhaps playing it safe at times, it doesn’t seem like he does. However, it’s worth noting we haven’t seen him take a big shot to the jaw yet.

Santos may well look to test that. ‘Marreta’ has been surprisingly successful in the UFC since arriving following a stint on TUF Brazil 2. His biggest wins have come at 205 pounds, where he’s beaten the likes of Jan Blachowicz, Jimi Manuwa and Johnny Walker.

Santos carries ridiculous power in all of his strikes and is aggressive to a fault, meaning that often, his opponents struggle to handle him. The fighters who have beaten him, for the most part, either overcame him on the ground or found that he was surprisingly passive, managing to lull him into a slower-paced fight.

The issue for ‘Marreta’ here is that Ankalaev is capable of doing both, particularly the former. So, unless he can catch the Dagestani unawares and blitz him early, then it might well be a tricky night for him.

Overall, this looks like a good match for Ankalaev. If he can protect his chin, he should be able to force Santos on his back and take him out from there. If he can pull off a finish, then the next title shot ought to be his.

The Pick: Ankalaev via second-round TKO

#2. UFC bantamweight: Marlon Moraes vs. Song Yadong

Can Song Yadong end the octagon run of Marlon Moraes this weekend?

On the face of it, this fight is a piece of really bizarre matchmaking from the UFC. Usually the promotion likes to match fighters coming off wins against one another. In this case, Song Yadong is coming off two straight wins, while Marlon Moraes is on a three-fight skid and hasn’t won since 2019.

When you consider that his most recent win was actually a hugely controversial one – a decision over Jose Aldo that probably should’ve gone the other way – ‘Magic’ could actually be on a five-fight losing streak. Therefore, there’s every chance that if he loses here, his octagon tenure could be over.

So can Yadong end the run of the Brazilian in the world’s biggest MMA promotion? It’s hard to say.

‘The Kung Fu Monkey’ has definitely looked good at times during his spell in the octagon. With an overall record of 7-1-1, he’s rightfully considered one of the better 135lbers in the promotion.

The Chinese fighter has been training with Team Alpha Male for some time now, something that’s clear from his fighting style. He throws quick strikes using a largely boxing-based game, has excellent grappling and can latch onto chokes if need be, too.

However, despite his last win coming via KO, he doesn’t quite possess the kind of power that the fighters who’ve recently beaten Moraes – Merab Dvalishvili, Rob Font and Cory Sandhagen – do.

More to the point, ‘Magic’ was actually beating Dvalishvili badly before the Georgian made a stirring comeback. If he can come into this bout on similar form, then his power, particularly in his low kicks, could give Yadong a lot of issues.

Overall, it’s worth remembering that Yadong struggled greatly with the striking of Kyler Phillips in his lone octagon loss. Phillips is hardly the dynamic fighter that Moraes is, even if the Brazilian is beginning to look a little shopworn.

Moraes’ run will come to an end in the near future, of that there can be no doubt, but this match looks good for him and he should get back into a winning run.

The Pick: Moraes via decision

#3. UFC Fight Night: The Main Card

Bantamweight prospect Sodiq Yusuff is in action on this weekend's main card

In a major featherweight bout, Sodiq Yusuff faces Alex Caceres. Despite his loss last year to Arnold Allen, Yusuff is still one of this division’s better prospects. He’s an explosive athlete who hits like a truck and has underrated skills elsewhere.

Caceres, meanwhile, is on the best run of his UFC career right now, riding a five-fight win streak. However, he hasn’t faced anyone nearly as explosive or hard-hitting as Yusuff during that time. If he can drag ‘Super Sodiq’ to the ground he stands a chance, but the pick overall is Yusuff via KO.

At light heavyweight, Khalil Rountree takes on Karl Roberson. This one should be a striking-based battle, as both men have superb kickboxing skills and heavy hands.

Had Rountree ever tuned up his ground game, then he could well have developed into a title contender by now, but Roberson isn’t likely to test him there. On the feet, ‘The War Horse’ is the bigger, harder-hitting fighter. Therefore, Rountree by decision is the pick.

In a lightweight clash, Drew Dober faces Terrance McKinney, who is taking the bout on late notice having only fought and won two weeks ago. ‘T-Wrecks’ has looked excellent in the UFC thus far, but Dober is a difficult opponent for him as he hits very hard, is durable and has excellent technical striking.

This is a winnable fight for McKinney, as Dober is coming off two straight losses. However, given the late notice, it’ll be tricky for him. Dober via decision is the pick.

Finally, in an amazing-sounding middleweight bout, Alex Pereira faces Bruno Silva. Better known as the only man to ever knock out Israel Adesanya, Pereira is a striking legend, but his MMA game is unproven – despite a flying knee KO in his octagon debut.

This is a difficult match for him, though, as Silva has shown brutal striking power in his own octagon run, going 3-0 thus far. However, he’s never fought a striker as skilled as ‘Po Atan’ before, meaning Pereira via tight decision is the pick.

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#4: UFC Fight Night: The Prelims

Picks in bold

Welterweight: Matthew Semelsberger vs. AJ Fletcher

Women's flyweight: JJ Aldrich vs. Gillian Robertson

Bantamweight: Trevin Jones vs. Javid Basharat

Featherweight Damon Jackson vs. Kamuela Kirk

Women's flyweight: Sabina Mazo vs. Miranda Maverick

Middleweight: Dalcha Lungiambula vs. Cody Brundage

Bantamweight: Guido Cannetti vs. Kris Moutinho

Light heavyweight: Tafon Nchukwi vs. Azamat Murzakanov