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Magomed Ankalaev fights short-notice replacement in UFC Abu Dhabi main event with Khalil Rountree out

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Magomed Ankalaev fights short-notice replacement in UFC Abu Dhabi main event with Khalil Rountree out

Magomed Ankalaev has a new opponent for his UFC Abu Dhabi headlining bout.

The UFC announced Monday that Ankalaev (20-2-1, 1 NC) is now set to fight Bogdan Guskov (18-3-1), who steps in for Khalil Rountree in the July 25 main event, which takes place at Etihad Arena. The reason for Rountree's withdrawal was not disclosed, though according to Ankalaev, Rountree pulled out with an injury.

Guskov was previously scheduled to rematch Jan Blachowicz at UFC Belgrade on Aug. 1, but that fight is off the schedule once again after previously being postponed from UFC 328 due to a Blachowicz injury.

Following Monday's announcement, Blachowicz released a statement claiming he was the first choice to step in for Rountree, but didn't think he could make the light heavyweight limit in time, so Guskov was selected instead. He still aims to stay on the UFC Belgrade card.

A quick updated about my upcoming bout.

UFC offered me to fight Ankalaev first. I wasn't sure if I'm gonna make the weight. After a couple of hours I confirmed the fight without any catchweight but it was a done deal with Guskov. So now I'm waiting for a new opponent for the [UFC Belgrade] Fight Night.

Ankalaev is currently No. 3 in the MMA Fighting Global Rankings after dropping the UFC light heavyweight title back to Alex Pereira at UFC 320 this past October. It was Ankalaev who ended Pereira's reign as 205-pound champion, but “Poatan†gained his revenge in their immediate rematch. It was Ankalaev's first loss since his UFC debut in March 2018.

The new UFC Abu Dhabi headliner gives Guskov (No. 12) a chance to jump into the top 5 of the rankings with a win. After fighting Blachowicz to a majority draw at UFC 323, the two have twice been booked to settle the score, but for now both men move on to fresh matchups.

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Dana White addresses Namo Fazil allegedly being attacked before DWCS: ‘We handled it behind the scenes’

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Dana White addresses Namo Fazil allegedly being attacked before DWCS: ‘We handled it behind the scenes’

Dana White knows something controversial went down at the Meta Apex involving Dana White Contender Series hopeful Namo Fazil. But he's not sharing the details.

This past week, Fazil made a shocking allegation that he was accosted by a group of Chechens—“There were 15 of them,†Fazil said—prior to his fight against Kaik Brito this past Tuesday. According to Fazil, his attackers interrupted his weight cut, “slapped†him, leading to a scuffle that had to caught the attention of the police. Former UFC champion Khamzat Chimaev, a native of Chechnya, appeared to address Fazil's allegations, writing the following on social media:

I just want to say that if something happens between two men, they need to sort things out between them self with out letting media make fitna between nations. We all are brothers. Chechens and Kurds we are Muslims and we should stay united. I'm not happy with the things that happened. I respect strong Kurdish people. When someone speaks bad then he should know there always will be consequences.

At the UFC Sacramento post-fight presser, White was asked about the story, and he gave a vague response.

“You guys have on idea how much shit goes on in this business behind the scenes and I said at the press conference that we had kind of a weird week here,†White said.

“I didn't even talk about it,†White said when asked if there would be any consequences for UFC fighter Baisangur Sursurkaev, who mocked Fazil after the incident and seemed to imply he was involved. “You guys wouldn't even know if he didn't talk about it.

“We handled it behind the scenes and that's the business we're in. Lots of crazy shit happens every day in this business.â€

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Anthony Smith releases first statement since July arrest for multiple felony charges

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Anthony Smith releases first statement since July arrest for multiple felony charges

Ex-UFC title challenger Anthony Smith broke his silence for the first time since he was arrested in several felony charges in late July with a post on social media.

On Saturday, Smith took to Instagram celebrating that he was able to return home to his family after he was initially denied any contact with his wife because she was involved in the incident that led to his arrest. Smith was hit with a total of four felonies including an attempt of a class 1/1A/1B/1C/1D felony — a class 2 felony — terroristic threats and two charges of first degree false imprisonment, which are all class 3A felonies. Class 2 felonies are punishable with a minimum of one year in prison up to 50 years in prison. Class 3A felonies are punishable by a maximum of three years in prison and 18 months post-release supervision with no minimum punishment.

“Happy to be home with my household full of “whys,'†Smith wrote on Instagram. “I'll be able to tell my story someday soon. Until then…you guys just keep making it up as you go.

“Character is revealed in chaos.â€

Following his arrest, prosecutors in Sarpy County, Neb., released a statement regarding the allegations surrounding Smith after he was initially taken into custody.

“During today's bond hearing, a prosecutor from the Sarpy County Attorney's Office offered the following information: It is alleged that on July 26, 2026, the defendant was involved in an altercation with his wife at a bar in Gretna, Neb., during which he reportedly threatened to kill her if she did not get into his vehicle and go home with him,†the statement said. “He is further accused of grabbing and pushing her inside the vehicle.

“At one point, during the drive, she was able to exit the vehicle. The defendant allegedly continued making threats, demanding that she get back inside the vehicle. After arriving home, she again exited the vehicle. Investigators allege that the defendant attempted multiple times to use the vehicle to strike her. The defendant's wife was able to get out of the way and avoid any physical harm.â€

Smith's wife (who is featured in the photo alongside her husband), Mikhala Renee Newman, made a brief statement of her own on social media defending the former UFC fighter.

“I love Anthony with every ounce of my being,†she wrote. “He is a good man, a great dad, and an incredible husband who loves us endlessly. Anyone that knows him can attest to that. They made a mental health struggle into something it wasn't. I am safe and always was safe. He would never hurt me. Ever. I called for help to protect him from himself.â€

During his most recent hearing, Smith was also granted permission to leave the country and travel to the Dominican Republic for “purposes of participating in a professional sporting event†from Sept. 27 to Oct. 3. Following his brief retirement from the UFC, Smith returned to participate in the Gamebred FC bare-knuckle MMA heavyweight tournament with the winner earning a $500,000 grand prize and he scored a submission win over Chase Sherman in his debut.

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Anthony Hernandez claims Gregory Rodrigues was ‘cheating,’ grabbing his gloves in UFC Sacramento main event

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Anthony Hernandez claims Gregory Rodrigues was ‘cheating,’ grabbing his gloves in UFC Sacramento main event

Anthony Hernandez enjoyed performing in front of a hometown crowd at UFC Sacramento, but there's one aspect of his fight with Gregory Rodrigues that left him sour.

Both middleweight contenders showed incredible heart in in Saturday's main event bout, with Rodrigues earning a hard-fought decision win to send Hernandez to his second straight loss. For their efforts, they won the evening's Fight of the Night award and an extra $100,000 for each of them.

As good as Rodrigues was scoring his first-ever five-round decision victory, Hernandez claims his opponent was using underhanded tactics during pivotal grappling exhanges.

“The more I seen him slow down, I thought, ‘OK, I'm going to get him this round,'†Hernandez said at the evening's post-fight press conference. “I hit him a few times, I rocked his shit, he's a tough son of a b*tch. I hit him with everything and the kitchen sink, hit him with some hard elbows, f*cker was cheating and grabbing the inside of my gloves and I told [referee] Herb [Dean] that.

“I fight clean, so it is what it is. Maybe I should be more dirty.â€

Hernandez made it clear he did his best to communicate the issue with Dean mid-fight, but other than a warning to Rodrigues, there was no penalty for the alleged foul.

“I told f*cking Herb, ‘This motherf*cker's grabbed my glove, like, four times. Hey, he's grabbing my gloves,' and he told him, ‘Hey, stop,'†Hernandez said. “But I mean, whatever. Don't take a point, whatever. I guess people like to cheat, so it is what it is.â€

Outside of that complaint, Hernandez had mostly positive things to say about Rodrigues, who earned a unanimous decision with a 49-46 score and a pair of 48-47s. Hernandez did plenty of damage of his own, but it wasn't enough to overcome Rodrigues' potent boxing and leg kicks that had Hernandez stumbling for much of the contest.

Hernandez told reporters he dealt with a shoulder injury in training camp that limited his preparation time, but he takes responsibility for the fight itself going south.

“I'm sure there's a f*ck-ton of mistakes I made,†Hernandez said. “But f*ck, hurt my leg early, had to make adjustments, and I had to do what I had to do to survive at that point.

“Gregory's a tough son of a b*tch. He hits f*cking hard. You've seen what he does to people. He hits them and puts them to sleep. I was still smiling, I was still coming forward. I told you guys, I love people trying to hurt me. I don't know what it is. I'm a sick f*ck in the head, I know that, but I love this shit.â€

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