Russia's Magomed Ankalaev reacts after winning his men's light heavyweight fight against Uzbekistan's Bogdan Guskov in the UFC Fight Night event at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi on July 25, 2026. (Photo by Fadel SENNA / AFP via Getty Images) | AFP via Getty Images Magomed Ankalaev is already plotting his next step forward towards UFC gold. 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). It wasn’t 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 “Big Ank” seemed to recognize that during the post-fight press conference. “I’m already the No. 1 contender,” Ankalaev said through a translator. “But as we know in this division right now our champion is hurt. 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 [Paulo] Costa wrote 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.” Costa recently went public with his frustrations 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 that would happily pay “Borrachinha” a few million dollars to headline a card. With the state the UFC light heavyweight division is in, the UFC would be smart to try and keep Costa around. But if they can’t make him stay, putting him against the extremely tough but generally boring Ankalaev fits into their playbook as well. Costa sounds ready to accept the challenge. “By the power of the Almight, I shall save this weightclass from monotony and boredom,” Costa declared on X (formerly Twitter) shortly after Ankalaev’s win. “Big Ank” had an idea for when the bout could happen. “Obviously, if Paulo Costa wants to do it, if the UFC is saying that that’s a possibility, I would happily be the one to fight here in Abu Dhabi in October,” Ankalaev suggested. “I always want to show exciting fights, I always want to show fun fights for the fans, but it seems as though a lot of the people when they see me in front of them, they start to run away and I have to be the one trying to find them and hunt them. Sometimes the fight doesn’t turn out the way I want. “So if Paulo Costa is going to stand in front of me and wants to stand and bang, we can definitely bang it out here in Abu Dhabi.”