Magomed Ankalaev has laid out his plans to return to the octagon and realize his dream of becoming the UFC light heavyweight champion following the disappointing result in his last outing.
On December 10 in the main event of UFC 282, the Russian rallied back after enduring adversity throughout the first two rounds and thought he did enough to beat Jan Blachowicz. In a razor-close battle, the bout ended in a split draw with each judge having a different result on their scorecards.
On his return to his home country, Magomed Ankalaev was welcomed by hundreds of fans and reporters where he revealed his plan to push toward another title shot and shared his analysis of the fight, saying:
“I’m happy that people came out to support me. They were obviously worried about me. We did everything we could [but] the fight turned out the way it did… We earned the victory, but the judges decided to not give it to us and made it a draw [instead]… I feel like I did everything to get the victory but the judges made their decision and there’s nothing you can do… It definitely hurt [to not get my hands raised], I had the worst training camp of my life coming into that fight, I had a lot of injuries… I’m more motivated to prove myself now. Soon we’ll take that belt.”
Ankalaev expects to take time off to nurse some injuries before returning in 2023 to stake another claim at a title shot. Although he will feel he deserves another chance at UFC gold, there are numerous fighters in his division that will too believe they should be next in line.
In Magomed Ankalaev’s absence, where does the light heavyweight division go next?
The weight class is filled with potential champions and is arguably the most open division in the UFC, but who is next in line to fight for the recently vacated world title?
As Magomed Ankalaev and Jan Blachowicz failed to capture the throne, the UFC announced that Glover Teixeira and Jamahal Hill will now step up to the plate to contend for the vacant strap.
Although the winner will be the rightful champion, the holder will likely be fighting the unorthodox Jiri Prochazka upon his return to the octagon.
Check out what the heavy-hitting light heavyweight had to say about his future plans in the translated video below.
