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MMA Weekly Roundup — July 26, 2026: Ankalaev Finishes Guskov in Abu Dhabi

MMA Weekly Roundup · Sunday, July 26, 2026

A twelve-days-notice main event that still went five rounds, $525,000 in bonus money handed out in a single night, and one of the sport's most sought-after free agents finally signing on the line. Here is everything that mattered in MMA over the past seven days.

Ankalaev Bounces Back in Abu Dhabi

Former light heavyweight champion Magomed Ankalaev returned to the win column on Saturday, stopping Bogdan Guskov by TKO at 2:41 of the fifth round to headline UFC Fight Night: Ankalaev vs. Guskov at Etihad Arena. It was the promotion's 23rd trip to Abu Dhabi and its first since UFC 321 last October.

Guskov was never supposed to be there. Khalil Rountree Jr. withdrew with an injury roughly two weeks out, and the Uzbek knockout artist stepped in on 12 days' notice, giving up a scheduled bout in Belgrade for his first UFC main event. Ankalaev was methodical through three rounds — long, patient, defensively sound — then widened the gap in the championship rounds and pounded out the finish, with referee Marc Goddard stepping in during the fifth.

It was Ankalaev's first win since dropping the title back to Alex Pereira and, in a division currently frozen by injury, a well-timed one.

Temirov Ambushes Erceg in the Co-Main

The biggest jolt of the night came one fight earlier. Returning from a lengthy layoff, Ramazan Temirov walked down Steve Erceg and knocked him out with a right hand at 4:21 of round one. Temirov moved to 3-0 in the UFC and extended his overall winning streak to 12 — a result that should put him in the rankings and in line for a name opponent next.

Elsewhere on the main card, heavyweight Rizvan Kuniev finished Tyrell Fortune by TKO at 1:12 of round three for his second consecutive win over a top-10 opponent. Contender Series graduate Magomed Zaynukov shut out Polish debutant Damian Rzepecki 30-27 across the board to move to 9-0, and Abubakar Vagaev leaned on his wrestling to edge fellow Russian Saygid Izagakhmaev 29-28 on all three cards in his promotional debut.

Prelims: Walker's Calf Slicer and Three Debut Wins

Five of the seven preliminary bouts ended inside the distance. Valter Walker was the headline act, tapping Thomas Petersen with a calf slicer at 1:32 of round one — his fifth straight first-round submission, tying Demian Maia for the longest such streak of the modern UFC era.

Muhammad Saidov announced himself with a second-round TKO of veteran Dustin Jacoby to move to 10-0. Sam Patterson stopped Santiago Ponzinibbio in the second for the best win of his career and called for the winner of next weekend's Belgrade headliner. Axel Sola submitted Ismael Bonfim with a D'Arce choke at 4:44 of round one, Magomed Tuchalov and Nurullo Aliev took unanimous decisions over Brendson Ribeiro and Mike Davis respectively, and Abdul Hussein capped his debut with a third-round arm-triangle choke on TUF 31 finalist Cody Gibson.

$525,000 in Bonus Money

Under the expanded 2026 bonus structure — $100,000 for Performance and Fight of the Night, plus $25,000 for any other knockout or submission — the promotion paid out $525,000 in Abu Dhabi.

Kuniev and Fortune split Fight of the Night. Temirov and Walker took Performance of the Night. Ankalaev, Saidov, Patterson, Sola and Hussein each collected the $25,000 finish bonus.

The Light Heavyweight Logjam

Champion Carlos Ulberg is still working back from the ACL tear he suffered on the way to winning the belt, and has said he is targeting early 2027 rather than rushing back. That leaves 205 pounds without an active champion and a contender pool starting to stack up behind Ankalaev.

Ankalaev, for his part, spent fight week making clear where his interest lies: a trilogy bout with Alex Pereira, even if it means following him up to heavyweight.

Signing of the Week: Salahdine Parnasse

The biggest non-fight story of the week was Salahdine Parnasse putting pen to paper. The former two-division KSW champion, 23-2 as a professional, signed with the UFC and will debut in the main event of UFC Paris on September 5 at Accor Arena, opposite Dan Hooker.

Debuting in a main event is rare air — a short list Parnasse joins on the strength of a long unbeaten run in Europe and a first-round finish in his U.S. debut earlier this year.

Looking Ahead: UFC Belgrade, August 1

The Octagon lands in Serbia for the first time next Saturday. UFC Fight Night: Medić vs. Rodriguez runs from Belgrade Arena with hometown welterweight Uroš Medić facing Daniel Rodriguez in the headliner.

The main card is built for the room: Jan Błachowicz meets Navajo Stirling at light heavyweight, Aleksandar Rakić and Marcin Tybura clash at heavyweight, and Serbians Duško Todorović and Vlasto Cepo also feature. Prelims begin at 7 a.m. MST with the main card at 10 a.m. MST on Paramount+.

Two weeks later, UFC 330 lands in Philadelphia on August 15 with welterweight champion Islam Makhachev defending against Ian Machado Garry and strawweight champion Mackenzie Dern facing Gillian Robertson.

Sources

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