Streaking light heavyweight contender, Magomed Ankalaev continues his run through the ranks with a rather tentative and composed unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 48-46) victory over one-time title challenger, Thiago Santos to round out a hugely entertaining UFC Vegas 50 card.
Scoring his seventh consecutive victory and arguably the most high-profile win of his Octagon tenure to date, Ankalaev managed to outland Santos on the feet beyond a brief late second round knockdown, as well as impose his wrestling against the Brazilian to set up a eventual dominant decision victory.
Adding Santos to an impressive résumé of wins recently, Ankalaev, who entered the bout as the #6 ranked contender in the official light heavyweight pile — will likely leapfrog the Brazilian striker and land within the division’s top-5 off the back of his judging success.