Magomed Ankalaev has many memorable finishes in his UFC career.
The UFC light heavyweight contender has proved to be a dangerous force in his four-year-run with the Las-Vegas based promotion. And one of those stoppages came in October 2020 at UFC 254, when Ankalaev put away Ion Cuțelaba in the first round of their light heavyweight rematch. The brutal finish earned Ankalaev a $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus.
You can watch Ankalaev’s knockout win over Cuțelaba in the video above.
Ankalaev is now gearing up for his first championship bout in the UFC. He’s set to headline UFC 282 on Dec. 10 against Jan Blachowicz for the vacant light heavyweight title.
Ankalaev (17-1 MMA, 9-1 UFC) is currently on a nine-fight winning streak. The Dagestani fighter is coming off back-to-back wins over former title challengers Thiago Santos and, most recently, a TKO over Anthony Smith at UFC 277 in July.
Blachowicz (29-9 MMA, 12-6 UFC) recently rebounded from his light heavyweight title to Glover Teixeira with a TKO win over Aleksandar Rakic at UFC on ESPN 36 in May.