Magomed Ankalaev Calls Out Heavyweights for a January Fight
“So what about heavyweight? Anybody ready to fight? Let's do it in January.”
The former light heavyweight champion says nobody in the top five at 205 pounds will fight him — so he is looking at heavyweight, with January in mind.
Magomed Ankalaev is done waiting. The former UFC light heavyweight champion took to X on Monday and said nobody in the top five of his division wants to fight him — so he is looking one division up, and he wants the fight in January.
"Looks like nobody in the top five at light heavyweight wants to fight. Everybody's got a reason. Khalil Rountree not ready Reyes just fought and is injured. Costa wants $10 million. So what about heavyweight? Anybody ready to fight? Let's do it in January," Ankalaev wrote.
Those are Ankalaev's reasons, in his own words. Rountree, he says, is not ready. Dominick Reyes just fought and is injured. And Paulo Costa, he claims, wants $10 million.
No opponent has answered the call yet, and no fight has been announced. The UFC has not said anything about Ankalaev fighting above 205 pounds.
Ankalaev, 34, is ranked No. 2 in the Meta UFC light heavyweight rankings. His record is 21-2-1 with one no contest, with 11 wins by knockout. He won the title from Alex Pereira at UFC 313 in March 2025, then lost the rematch at UFC 320 that October, stopped in the first round after 80 seconds. In July, in his first fight since losing the belt, he stopped Bogdan Guskov by fifth-round TKO in Abu Dhabi.
The road back to the title at 205 pounds is blocked. New champion Carlos Ulberg tore his ACL the night he won the belt and is targeting a return in early 2027. The only man ranked above Ankalaev is Pereira, who has left the division for heavyweight — and Ankalaev has said before he would follow him up to finish their trilogy there, after splitting their series 1-1 at light heavyweight.
There may already be a date in play. Heavy.com reported, citing sources, that the UFC is targeting Ankalaev to headline UFC Dallas on January 16 at the American Airlines Center, with Reyes as the intended opponent — but Reyes is hurt, according to Ankalaev, and Rountree was originally supposed to face him in Abu Dhabi in the summer before pulling out injured.
For now, the offer stands: a heavyweight, in January, against anybody willing.
