On the night of December 11 in Moscow at the UFC 282 tournament in Las Vegas, the Russian Magomed Ankalaev will challenge the ex-champion of the organization Jan Blakhovitch. The favorite in the fight for the vacant light heavyweight title, many call the Russian. Bookmakers offer to bet on his victory with a coefficient of 1.36. Pole’s chances are estimated much more modestly – 3.34.

The 30-year-old fighter from Russia is really in good shape. After a poor start in the UFC, he won nine fights in a row. Twice he managed to finish the competitors in less than a minute. With swift victories, he stunned Dalcha Lungiambula from South Africa, Ion Kutselaba from Moldova and their fans. But Magomed set a personal record in another fighting organization, forcing the enemy to surrender in just 15 seconds!

Punishment for a gross mistake came with lightning speed.

There was no plan B

For the WFCA 17 tournament, held in April 2016 in Grozny, 23-year-old at that time Magomed Ankalaev approached in the status of a fighter of promising and still gaining experience. A native of Dagestan was undefeated, but with five victories in the asset, he, of course, could not count on the main fight of the evening. Another future participant in UFC tournaments, Volkan Ozdemir, did not get the role of the main star, which eventually went to Maxim Grishin.

Ankalaev’s rival also hardly considered himself a top-level fighter. By the age of 38, Lloyd Marshbanks had a record of 20 wins with 18 losses, and the number of failures grew with each fight. It was not the first time the American visited Russia – before that he had repeatedly performed with varying success at tournaments of the M-1 organization.

Of course, no one seriously considered him the favorite in this fight with Ankalaev. Nevertheless, after five defeats in a row, it was problematic for him to surprise a competitor hungry for victories. But for Magomed, a duel with an experienced opponent could well be a good test. And for a debut in a solid organization, it’s even good that the enemy is a repeatedly beaten fighter – there is a chance to loudly declare yourself.

Magomed Ankalaev / Photo: © Carmen Mandato / Staff / Getty Images Sport / Gettyimages.ru

Magomed really scored a high-profile debut, though he himself probably wanted to win a little differently. Marshbanks, after a pause of a few seconds after the start, tried to make a pass to the legs. The attempt was immediately doomed to failure – the American started the movement from a very solid distance. Ankalaev made a slight backward movement, allowing the experienced fighter to simply plop down on his stomach. With lightning speed he went behind the opponent’s back and treated him with a series of strong blows.

It would seem that the situation was not critical for the American. The referee was not going to stop the fight yet, waiting for the development of events. But Lloyd somehow lost heart and decided to give up. Perhaps he realized that Plan A had failed and that he had no Plan B. Magomed was not too happy with such an easy first victory in the Akhmat fighting championship. The fighter’s face showed disappointment as he left the octagon.

UFC 282. Jairzinho Rozenstruik vs. Chris Dakas. Chris Curtis vs Joaquin Buckley. Magomed Ankalaev vs Jan Blachowicz