It wasn’t the prettiest, but [autotag]Magomed Ankalaev[/autotag] kept on rolling Saturday in Las Vegas.
Russia’s Ankalaev (15-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) defeated Ukraine’s [autotag]Nikita Krylov[/autotag] (27-8 MMA, 8-6 UFC) with a unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) at UFC Fight Night 186.
The light heavyweight bout was the co-main event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. It streamed on ESPN+.
Round 1 was perhaps the most complete of Krylov’s career. Known for his sporadically successive wins and losses, Krylov utilized a well-rounded attack to keep Ankalaev at bay. After some clinch grappling, Krylov found success in back-and-forth exchanges on the feet.
But in the second round, Ankalaev found his way. After a handful of exchanges on the feet, Ankalaev found his range and landed some shots. He then dragged the fight to the canvas, where he controlled Krylov for much of the round.
In Round 3, Ankalaev resorted to the game plan that found him success in Round 2. Within the opening two minutes, Ankalaev dragged Krylov to the mat. From top position, Ankalaev grinded out the rest of the fight in a decision-sealing move.
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With the victory, Ankalaev extended his winning streak to six. Entering UFC Fight Night 186, Ankalaev had defeated Ion Cutelaba by strikes in back-to-back outings. The Russian light heavyweight’s lone pro loss came to Paul Craig in his UFC debut, when he was submitted in the final second of a fight he had largely dominated.
As for Krylov, the loss is his third in his past five fights. He was finished in two of three of those defeats.
Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 186 results include:
- Magomed Ankalaev def. Nikita Krylov via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Montana De La Rosa vs. Mayra Bueno Silva declared majority draw (28-27 Silva, 28-28, 28-28)
- Pedro Munhoz def. Jimmie Rivera via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
- Alex Caceres def. Kevin Croom via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-27)
- Thiago Moises def. Alexander Hernandez via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
- Alexis Davis def. Sabina Mazo via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
- Ronnie Lawrence def. Vince Cachero via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, 2:38
- Dustin Jacoby def. Maxim Grishin via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
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