Ankalaev calling out Shogun, Smith, Top 5 fighters

The Dagestani light heavyweight who knocked out Ion Kucelaba in revenge is ready to move on.

At the last UFC 254 tournament, Russian light heavyweight Magomed Ankalaev spectacularly knocked out Moldovan Ion Cucelaba in revenge. In the first fight, Ion said that the referee confused his Oscar-nominated acting performance with a knockout. In the rematch, Ankalaev made sure that this time the opponent had definitely flown off into the astral plane and would no longer dispute the outcome of the match.

After the fight, Magomed said that because of the revenge with Kutselaba, he could not sleep normally:

“I have long wanted to put an end to it. The last fight, as you know, everyone thought it was an early stop. Therefore, as I was assigned a revenge, after that day I had hard training. I did not sleep well, I wanted to put an end to it. Today we put an end to it, I'm happy. Now I can sleep well. "

Now that all the i's have been dotted and all the t's have been crossed, Ankalaev wants to fight with the eminent veteran Mauricio “Shogun” Rua or ex-contender for the title Anthony Smith:

“Yes, I would like to fight “ Shogun ” Rua, who was the champion, or with Anthony Smith. From the Top 5 I would have fought with anyone. I think I already deserve it. So we will wait, what decisions will be made, who will be given. I said whom I would like (as rivals) ”.

“Shogun” (27-11-1) in July won a split against Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, and in November hopes to have a rematch with Paul Craig, with whom they had previously fought in a draw.

Smith (33-16) suffered two defeats in a row - by knockout from Glover Teixeira and on points dry from Alexander Rakic ??- and was seriously thinking about returning to middleweight.

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Fixed :-)

Nice write up, Touch. He definitely made sure he got the win this time. He’s already ranked above Shogun, and as a Shogun fan I’d rather see him in fun fights at this stage, not guys who knock people out. Smith wouldn’t be a bad fight. Smith needs some time to reset I think though. Too quick a turnaround after that Glover smashing 

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I'd like to see Ankalaev vs Rakic. Two young guys with great technique and power.

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