Former UFC Light Heavyweight champion Magomed Ankalaev still has revenge on his mind.

“Big Ank” returns to action this weekend (July 25, 2026) in the main event of UFC Abu Dhabi versus Uzbek knockout artist Bogdan Guskov (not Khalil Rountree Jr.). It’s been about ten months since Ankalaev’s title loss to Alex Pereira, a quick and vicious knockout defeat (watch here) that quickly erased the memory of Ankalaev’s own victory over “Poatan” only five months earlier.

Since then, Pereira has jumped ship to Heavyweight and declared that their story is over.

Ankalaev isn’t so quick to move on. Though the Russian standout admits that he wants to recapture 205-pound gold, he’s also more than willing to chase Pereira up to Heavyweight to settle the score for good. Interestingly, he also describes his win as a “domination,” while labeling Pereira’s quick KO an “accident.”

“I will be chasing that fight,” Ankalaev told Red Corner MMA. “No matter if it takes place at Heavyweight or Light Heavyweight. Although he moved up, so I’m not just focusing on him. I have some business to finish at the Light Heavyweight division. But at the end of the day, as long as he’s not retired, I’m sure the UFC would be interested.

“We are 1-1. I won the first fight, and I think it’s fair to say it was domination. I lost the second one, but it was just an accident. I think the third fight should be very exciting for the fans. Time will tell.”

Likely, Ankalaev is referring to the myriad of injuries that allegedly left him unable to train for more than a month leading up to the Pereira rematch. Unfortunately for “Big Ank,” he may never get the chance to prove that his loss was a fluke, because Pereira is focused on Heavyweight gold and likely doesn’t have all that many fights left in his professional career.

On the plus side, Ankalaev is one of the very best 205-pounders in the world, and he has yet to face current champion Carlos Ulberg. If able to return to the win column, Ankalaev could find himself in another title fight before too long.