Magomed Ankalaev is already plotting his next step forward towards UFC gold.<\/p>\n
Ankalaev put in another technically solid yet underwhelming performance at UFC Abu Dhabi, gradually wearing down an avoidant Bogdan Guskov for five rounds before finishing his exhausted opponent with ground and pound (highlights here).<\/a> It wasn\u2019t the kind of fight that would mae anyone call for Ankalaev to get an interim title shot while undisputed champ Carlos Ulberg recovers from knee surgery, and \u201cBig Ank\u201d seemed to recognize that during the post-fight press conference.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m already the No. 1 contender,\u201d Ankalaev said through a translator. \u201cBut as we know in this division right now our champion is hurt. We don\u2019t know when he\u2019s going to come back. So if he\u2019s going to take a long time to come back, I would like to stay active and I believe I saw something or heard something that [Paulo] Costa wrote in my direction.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not sure what he was trying to say, whether he was trying to bother me or was trying to get my attention. So if it is indeed that the champion\u2019s going to be out for a little while, then potentially maybe we can have a good fight with Costa, unless he\u2019s going to be running away.\u201d<\/p>\n Costa recently went public with his frustrations<\/a> in getting the final fight of his current UFC contract booked. He suggested the UFC was freezing him out rather than letting him complete his deal so he can test the free agent market. That market, which has looked somewhat desolate in the past, currently has a few players<\/a> that would happily pay \u201cBorrachinha\u201d a few million dollars to headline a card.<\/p>\n