UFC Abu Dhabi Main Event Fight Hit With Major Change on Less Than Two Weeks' Notice

Former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Magomed Ankalaev faces a new opponent at UFC Abu Dhabi on just two weeks’ notice.

Following this Saturday’s UFC Oklahoma City card and its headlining bout between former UFC champions Dricus du Plessis and Kamaru Usman, the UFC heads back to the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, UAE for another UFC Fight Night event on July 25.

The main event of that card also features a former UFC titleholder, as Ankalaev will make his return to action for the first time since losing his belt in an immediate rematch with Alex Pereira at UFC 320.

Magomed Ankalaev Faces Bogdan Guskov in New UFC Abu Dhai Main Event

Originally scheduled to meet former title challenger Khalil Rountree Jr., the UFC announced this week that Ankalaev will now take on Bogdan Guskov at UFC Abu Dhabi after Rountree suffered an injury during his camp.

WE HAVE A BANGER!💥

Due to injury, Khalil Rountree Jr. is out of the #UFCAbuDhabi main event.

Stepping in against No. 1 Ranked @AnkalaevM will be Uzbekistan's top ranked fighter, No. 10 ranked @BogdanGuskov

18 wins, 18 finishes with 13 in the very first round - Guskov will… pic.twitter.com/SE2AO9H0Uy
— UFC (@ufc) July 13, 2026

The change in opponent is notable for a number of reasons, not the least of which being the fact that Ankalaev now faces a dangerous up-and-comer in the light heavyweight division on extremely short notice.

Jan Blachowciz Misses Out Bogdan Guskov & Magomed Ankalaev Rematches

Guskov isn’t stepping in at UFC Abu Dhabi without any preparation, as “Hitman” was scheduled to rematch another former UFC light heavyweight champion in Jan Blachowciz a week later at UFC Belgrade.

Jan Blachowicz (red gloves) fights Bogdan Guskov (blue gloves) during UFC 323 at T-Mobile Arena. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The update from the UFC makes no mention of Blachowciz’s status after the UFC Abu Dhabi change, but the Polish star revealed on social media that he was also approached about stepping in to replace Rountree and fight Ankalaev.

I just wanna clear some things concerning my fight and the changes. This is how it went down.

I got a call to fight Ankalaev a week early. At this very moment I didn’t know if I could make the weight.

I say - YES - but in catchweight. Ankalaev said - NO - to catchweight. I…
— Jan Blachowicz (@JanBlachowicz) July 14, 2026

"I just wanna clear some things concerning my fight and the changes. This is how it went down. I got a call to fight Ankalaev a week early. At this very moment I didn’t know if I could make the weight. I say - YES - but in catchweight. Ankalaev said - NO - to catchweight. I went to train and after that (3 hours approximately) we decided with my coaches that - WE CAN - make the weight a week early. We contacted the UFC but during all this time the UFC also separately contacted Guskov and he just simply said YES and they signed him. So this was just a fluke of communication sort. I’m still looking forward to my fight in Serbia. Lesson learned. Sometimes you just have to take immediate action and without overthinking it. It is what it is."

Jan Blachowicz (red gloves) fights Magomed Ankalaev (blue gloves) during UFC 282 at T-Mobile Arena. | USA TODAY Sports

Blachowciz and Ankalaev previously headlined UFC 282, where the pair met to crown a new UFC light heavyweight champion after reigning titleholder Jiří Procházka suffered an injury and elected to vacate the division’s belt.

Will Jan Blachowicz Still Fight at UFC Belgrade?

Things didn’t end up going to plan in Las Vegas, as Blachowciz and Ankalaev fought to a draw that left the light heavyweight belt vacant until Jamahal Hill defeated Glover Teixeira at UFC 283 to win the title.

Blachowciz’s post regarding the Ankalaev fight notes that he still plans on traveling to Serbia, but it’s unclear at this time if the UFC is trying to find a short-notice opponent for the former light heavyweight champion.

Jan Blachowicz (red gloves) reacts with Bogdan Guskov (blue gloves) after their fight during UFC 323 at T-Mobile Arena. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The loss of the Blachowciz vs. Guskov rematch leaves UFC Belgrade with a total of 13 scheduled fights, and UFC Abu Dhabi also looks set to proceed with 13 bouts next Saturday following the change to its headlining matchup.

UFC Abu Dhabi Fight Card

Main Event: Magomed Ankalaev vs. Bogdan Guskov

Co-Main Event: Steve Erceg vs. Ramazan Temirov

Rizvan Kuniev vs. Tyrell Fortune

Islam Dulatov vs. Willington Turman

Damian Rzepecki vs. Magomed Zaynukov

Abubakar Vagaev vs. Saygid Izagakhmaev

Valter Walker vs. Thomas Petersen

Ismal Bonfim vs. Axel Sola

Brenson Ribeiro vs. Magomed Tuchalov

Nurullo Aliev vs. Mike Davis

Santiago Ponzinibbio vs. Sam Patterson

Dustin Jacoby vs. Muhammad Said

Abdul Hussein vs. Cody Gibson

Add us as a preferred source on Google