Magomed Ankalaev's fifth-round TKO of Bogdan Guskov at UFC Abu Dhabi looked like a striking clinic on the scorecard. Go back and watch rounds four and five, and it was Ankalaev's wrestling, not his hands, that actually broke Guskov down.
Reviewed by BJJ Gyms · Updated 2026-07-27
Figures reflect UFC.com's official Abu Dhabi results and reporting from Eli Sports Network and Yahoo Sports on the July 25, 2026 card.
For three rounds, UFC Abu Dhabi's main event looked like exactly what the build-up promised: two strikers testing distance, with Ankalaev landing the cleaner shots behind side kicks and volume. If the fight had ended after round three, most people would have called it a comfortable kickboxing win and moved on.
It didn't end there. In round four, Ankalaev stopped chasing a finish on the feet and shot for a takedown instead, put Guskov on his back, and started working from top position. He did the same thing again to open round five, and this time Guskov never really got off the canvas. The stoppage came from accumulated ground-and-pound, not a single highlight-reel strike, which is easy to miss if you only watch the final sequence.
Guskov actually threatened a choke in the fifth round before Ankalaev shrugged it off, settled back into position, and kept working. That single detail says a lot: a fighter getting outworked on the feet can still find something on the ground when he's desperate, which is exactly why the top player in that exchange needs more than just decent takedowns. He needs to be comfortable enough in bad moments to solve a live submission attempt without panicking.
That's the piece of the fight that a straight striking breakdown leaves out. Ankalaev didn't just take Guskov down, he stayed composed through a scramble where Guskov had a real look at a finish, and that composure is a jiu-jitsu skill as much as a wrestling one. Fighters who only drill takedowns without spending real time on bottom escapes and submission defense tend to freeze or panic in that exact spot.
Ankalaev's main event wasn't the only grappling-heavy result on the card. In the welterweight bout, Abubakar Vagaev secured a takedown within seconds of the opening bell and built his entire performance around wrestling pressure, chain takedowns, and top control rather than trying to finish on the feet.
His opponent, UFC newcomer Saygid Izagakhmaev, answered by attempting multiple submissions from his back over the course of the fight. None of them landed, because Vagaev's defense held up every time. Vagaev won a clean decision, and the fight became a good example of a principle every grappler eventually learns the hard way: a submission attempt against a defense that already knows the counter usually just burns your own energy instead of ending the fight.
UFC analyst Daniel Cormier said Ankalaev likely did enough to firm up his case for another shot at the 205-pound title, even though a finish was the bigger factor in that argument than the wrestling itself. The complication is timing. Champion Carlos Ulberg is out until early 2027 recovering from an ACL injury, which means Ankalaev may end up taking another fight in the meantime rather than sitting and waiting.
Ankalaev has called out Paulo Costa as his preferred next opponent, while Ulberg has floated a matchup with former champion Jiri Prochazka instead. Either way, the version of Ankalaev that shows up next will likely lean on the same blend of standup pressure and ground control that carried him through Abu Dhabi, because it's the exact style that has kept him near the top of a stacked division.
You don't need to be a UFC title contender to apply what Ankalaev and Vagaev showed on this card. Here's what carries over to the mats at your own gym.
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No. Ankalaev won by TKO from ground-and-pound strikes in round five, though he used wrestling and top control to get there rather than finishing purely on the feet.
Analyst Daniel Cormier believes the win strengthens his case, but champion Carlos Ulberg isn't expected back until 2027 due to a torn ACL, so Ankalaev may fight again before any title bout is booked.
Abubakar Vagaev won a decision by controlling the fight with wrestling and takedowns, while Saygid Izagakhmaev attempted several submissions from the bottom that Vagaev successfully defended.
No. Wrestling helps with takedowns, but staying composed on the ground, escaping bad spots, and defending submissions is core jiu-jitsu training that any gym with a solid no-gi program teaches from day one.