UFC 254 tournament bout
This coming Saturday in Abu Dhabi (UAE) the UFC 254 tournament will take place on Fight Island. The main fan’s attention here will be riveted to Khabib Nurmagomedov and Justin Gaethje, but the warm-up fights should not disappoint real MMA fans.
Paid card UFC 254 will open a light heavyweight rematch between Ankalaev and Kutselaba.
Incredibly, this is the fourth consecutive attempt by the UFC to host the second series of this Moldova-Dagestan confrontation. In February at UFC Fight Night 169, Ankalaev defeated Kutselaba by a 38-second technical knockout, but the referee’s stoppage was regarded by most fans as premature. In the future, the pandemic and two positive tests of Kutselaba for COVID-19 led to the postponement of the fight.
For Ankalaev, the victory was the fourth in a row and the sixth knockout in the last seven fights he won.
Kutselaba won three out of four bouts to a controversial loss, knocking out Enrique da Silva, Gadzhimurad Antigulov and Khalil Rowntree, losing by submission to Glover Teixeira.
Prediction for the fight
Cutelaba has the punching power to turn the tide of any fight. And if he can punch Ankalaev, he can definitely knock him out. However, in the first short-lived battle, Ankalaev more than successfully responded with standing fire. Plus, the Dagestani is very strong in grappling, which can be a problem for his opponent.
It is likely that combining work in the rack with takedowns will lead to Ankalaev’s fifth consecutive victory in the UFC.
Ankalaev’s victory on points
Main card
Khabib Nurmagomedov – Justin Gaethje
Robert Whittaker – Jared Cannonier
Alexander Volkov – Walt Harris
Jacob Malkoon – Phil Hawes
Lauren Murphy – Lilia Shakirova
Magomed Ankalaev – Ion Kutselaba
preliminary card
Stefan Struve – Tai Tuivasa
Alex Oliveira – Shavkat Rakhmonov
Jung Da Woong – Sam Alvey
Nathaniel Wood – Casey Kenny
Early preliminary card
Liana Jojua – Miranda Maverick
Joel Alvarez – Alexander Yakovlev
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