Magomed Ankalaev set to face perennial contender Nikita Krylov in February
Magomed Ankalaev has his next fight booked.
The rising light heavyweight contender is set to face Nikita Krylov on February 27 at a location to be determined. ESPN’s Brett Okamoto was the first to report the news of the fight. The event will be a Fight Night, though. Whether or not this will be the co-main event is also uncertain at this point.
This is a very intriguing light heavyweight matchup as Ankalaev is someone many consider to be a future title challenger. Krylov, meanwhile, is a perennial contender and is always in the mix of the top-10 of the division.
Magomed Ankalaev is on a five-fight winning streak and coming off back-to-back knockout wins over Ion Cutelaba. The Russian last fought at UFC 254 where he proved the first fight was no fluke as he brutally KO’d Cutelaba. His only loss inside the UFC came at 4:59 of the third and final round as Paul Craig tapped him out in a fight Ankalaev was winning. If he can get past Krylov, a top-five opponent could very well be next for the Russian.
Nikita Krylov, meanwhile, returned to the win column with a decision win over Johnny Walker last time out. Before that, he dropped a split decision to Glover Teixeira and submitted Ovince Saint Preux. He has also fought the now-light heavyweight champion, Jan Blachowicz back in 2018 and was submitted in the second round. In his career, the eighth-ranked light heavyweight holds notable wins over Ed Herman, Walt Harris, and Fabio Maldonado. But, if he can beat Ankalaev, he too, would likely get a top-five guy next.
The February 27 event is now as follows:
- Dominick Reyes vs. Jiri Prochazka
- Magomed Ankalaev vs. Nikita Krylov
- Raphael Assuncao vs. Raoni Barcelos
- William Knight vs. Alonzo Menifield
- Alexis Davis vs. Sabina Mazo
- Randy Brown vs. Alex Oliveira
- Hannah Cifers vs. Emily Whitmire
- Alex Caceres vs. Kevin Croom
