Currently ranked as number 6 in the Ultimate Fighting Championships Light Heavyweight Rankings, Magomed Ankalaev is a talented mixed martial artist.
Ankalaev’s career as a fighter started out in Greco-Roman Wrestling and combat sambo, with the young fighter studying at the Dagestan State University. He then started to compete in amateur MMA competitions, becoming both the world and the Russian world champion. In 2014 he made his professional debut at Oplot Challenge 96, and went on to win the first 9 matches of his career, gaining a reputation for being one to watch. In 2016 he won the World Fighting Championship Akhmat Light Heavyweight Championship, successfully defending the title the following year. By now Ankalaev was well established as a fierce competitor, and he was snapped up by the Ultimate Fighting Championship in 2017. In his four years with the promotion he has won Performance of the Night three times and is currently on a seven bout winning streak, having won all of his fights throughout 2018, 2019 and 2020. Most recently he has beaten Nikita Krylov and Volkan Oezdemir via unanimous decision.
With a total of 17 professional wins and only one loss to his name, Ankalaev is known as a powerhouse in the ring and looks set to continue his rise to the top with more matches scheduled in the coming months.