Magomed Ankalaev didn’t set the stage alight with his performance against Bogdan Guskov at UFC Abu Dhabi. The Russian made his UFC return after losing the light heavyweight gold to Alex Pereira in his previous fight, and ultimately finished his opponent in the final round.

While the result was in Ankalaev’s favor, many were’t impressed with his performance. The fight was a little boring, and the crowd also booed the clash during the latter rounds.

However, former UFC champion and current commentator Daniel Cormier, didn’t blame Ankalaev for the fight being boring. ‘DC lauded the former champion for changing his tactics midway through the fight.

While speaking on his YouTube channel, Cormier said (h/t MMA Junkie):

“We were judging him pretty harshly in the fight watching, because it was a slow affair. But then midway through the second round he realized Bogdan Guskov was not engaging with Magomed Ankalaev. Ankalaev was pursuing him. He was trying to make it a fun fight. Guskov was unwilling to do that by backing up and skirting the outside of the octagon.”

Cormier also touched upon the loss to Pereira, and claimed that Ankalaev had made major changes to his game:

“Ankalaev lost his belt in devastating fashion to Alex Pereira at UFC 320. He’s been gone for a very long time, said he made a bunch of changes to his training camp, and honestly, his aggressiveness in the octagon showed he felt like he could get a finish, or he’s done something differently to try to pursue finishes.”

Cormier then brought up that Ankalaev’s win could have set him up for a fight against Carlos Ulberg, the champion:

“Ankalaev getting that finish might have legitimately gotten him another opportunity to fight for the UFC championship against the new champion, Carlos Ulberg, when he comes back. He says he wants to be back early next year.”

Cormier also touched upon how the landscape of the light heavyweight division had changed. Former champions Alex Pereira and Jamahal Hill have moved up to heavyweight while Ulberg, the current division king, is out with an ACL injury and won’t be back in action for a while.

Magomed Ankalaev wants trilogy with Alex Pereira

While Daniel Cormier believes Magomed Ankalaev could fight for the gold after his UFC Abu Dhabi win, the Russian has Alex Pereira on his mind.

The Brazilian knocked Ankalaev out cold in their last meeting, and the former champion wants to get his revenge on Pereira.

Speaking to the press after his win, Ankalaev called out Pereira:

“One more thing I’d like to say before I forget. There’s somebody who calls himself ‘Chama’, that put a picture of me up and said something like, ‘What, are you still alive?’ Well, if he wants to come down here, and if he wants to take on this fight, I’m sure the UFC also will be very happy to make that fight happen.”