UFC stars Colby Covington, Belal Muhammad, Merab Dvalishvili, and Henry Cejudo have their grudge matches booked to take pace on the RAF mats.

Magomed Ankalaev won't dismiss a possible collision with Paulo Costa in the near future.

Ankalaev is fresh off his fifth-round finish over Bogdan Guskov in the UFC Abu Dhabi main event this past Saturday. The former 205-pound titleholder was coming off his championship loss to Alex Pereira at UFC 320. It was just the second defeat of the Dagestan bruiser's pro MMA career, but he got back on track this past Saturday.

There has been a lot of talk within the MMA community about Carlos Ulberg's return time frame and whether or not an interim title bout should take place. Ulberg is the reigning UFC light heavyweight titleholder, and he is eyeing an early 2027 return from his torn ACL. Meanwhile, Costa has been pounding the table for an interim championship fight.

During the UFC Abu Dhabi post-fight press conference, Ankalaev said that he's open to fighting Costa if Ulberg won't be returning as quickly as he hopes (via MMAFighting).

“I'm already the No. 1 contender, but as we know in this division right now our champion is hurt,†Ankalaev said. “We don't know when he's going to come back, so if he's 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 Costa wrote something in my direction. I'm 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's going to be out for a little while, then potentially maybe we can have a good fight with Costa, unless he's going to be running away.â€

Costa made his successful light heavyweight return back in April. He turned in a solid performance against Azamat Murzakanov, earning a third-round TKO finish via head kick. “Borrachinha†now has two straight wins, and he's hoping that a change in weight class will lead him to his first UFC championship.

Should UFC book Magomed Ankalaev vs. Paulo Costa before the end of 2026? Should an interim title be at stake? Let us know in the comments below.

Bogdan Guskov couldn't capitalize on his short-notice opportunity against Magomed Ankalaev, but he isn't allowing Saturday's setback to get him down.

Guskov stood across the Octagon from Ankalaev in the UFC Abu Dhabi headliner inside Etihad Arena. Guskov had a chance to emerge as a new contender in the light heavyweight division. Ankalaev ultimately put Guskov away in the fifth round via TKO. It's the former light heavyweight champion's first win since losing the 205-pound gold against Alex Pereira back in Oct. 2025.

Over on his Instagram Stories, Guskov reacted to the defeat by insisting he will share the Octagon with Ankalaev again down the road.

“Hello everyone, that's how it went today,†Guskov wrote. “I can say for certain Captain Uzbekistan never gives up. We'll meet again.â€

Guskov has gone 0-1-1 in his last two outings. It hasn't been ideal for the Dukent native, who had been riding a four-fight winning streak prior to his majority draw against Jan Blachowicz back in late 2025. Guskov had victories over Zac Pauga, Ryan Spann, Billy Elekana, and Nikita Krylov in his winning streak, but he'll have to start over.

Guskov will turn 34 in September, and some are wondering if the window is closing on his UFC title hopes. With recent changes to the 205-pound division, it might give Guskov one more chance to overcome his latest setback.

As for Ankalaev, he might have sealed another title shot. In a post-fight reaction video posted on his YouTube channel, Daniel Cormier shared his belief that “Big Ank†might be Carlos Ulberg's first title challenger if “Black Jag†ends up returning in early 2027.

Whether or not the stars will eventually align for Ankalaev vs. Guskov 2 remains to be seen. For now, the two will be on different paths for their next bouts.

Where does Bogdan Guskov go from here? Can he build himself back up? Drop a comment below.