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Light Heavyweights

Magomed Ankalaev (13-1) vs. Ion Cutelaba (15-5)

ODDS: Ankalaev (-335), Cutelaba (+275)

Russia’s Ankalaev may have had a disheartening UFC debut—he dominated Paul Craig, only to get tapped with literally one second left in the fight—but he spent his next few fights living up to his considerable hype, patiently picking apart his opponents until he ended things with a brutal knockout more often than not. It is that patience that made his February fight against Cutelaba particularly intriguing. If nothing else, Cutelaba consistently brings the fight to his opponent, even starting a few skirmishes with his tendency to stare down his opponents while the fighters are being introduced. That happened in the fight against Ankalaev, which was almost called before it began; that should have been the first sign that something strange was about to happen. Once the fight began, Cutelaba did indeed immediately push the pace, but Ankalaev matched him every step on the way, throwing brutal kicks and punches that appeared to stagger the Moldovan with each blow. As Cutelaba wobbled, referee Kevin MacDonald understandably stepped in to stop the fight. However, Cutelaba started throwing back as soon as he did so, making the timing of the stoppage look absolutely terrible. It was quite weird and made even weirder by Cutelaba’s post-fight explanation: His plan was apparently to appear staggered in an attempt to lure Ankalaev into a false sense of security, though he apparently did not think through how the referee would react. At any rate, the UFC sought an immediate rematch, first during a scrapped April card and then at UFC 252 two weeks ago, and it looks set to finally happen here. It is a perfectly fine move. Even beyond the strangeness of the finish, the first fight was an absolute barnburner for the 38 seconds that it lasted. This should once again be Ankalaev’s fight to lose, as the first fight hinged on his ability to match Cutelaba’s pace. He seemed to be perfectly content to repeatedly kick Cutelaba in the head as the Moldovan tried to get things done. This should be another entertaining sprint, and the result should be another Ankalaev win via first-round stoppage, this time without the controversy.

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