Born: June 2, 1992 (Age: 30) in Makhachkala, Russia
Division: Light Heavyweight
Height: 6’3”
Reach: 75”
Record: 17-1 (9-1 UFC)
Association: Gorets Fight Team
Stage of Career: Prime
Summary: Unlike most Dagestani fighters, Ankalaev excels primarily
through his superb striking, with terrific boxing and some of the
best kicks in the sport. All of his punches are solid, but his
hooks are especially crisp and powerful, and he constantly throws
punches in bunches, with a slew of hooks feeding into each other.
His kicks are as good as they come in MMA, causing tremendous
damage to all parts of the body; his head kicks rank right up there
with those of
Mirko
Filipovic, resulting in multiple knockouts. He is extremely
sound and smart with sturdy defense, never putting himself in
danger. While he chooses to win fights with his striking, his
grappling skills are also excellent. No one has been able to gain
an advantage against him there, outside of a last-second submission
to
Paul
Craig in his
Ultimate Fighting Championship debut. With Ankalaev having such
dangerous striking, a consistently smart approach and no
significant weaknesses, it will take an amazing performance from a
top fighter to beat him.
STRIKING
• Stance: Mainly southpaw, though he switches often and can fight
orthodox for long stretches.
• Hand Speed: Average.
• Jab: Straight and lands with impact, but it is often telegraphed
and can be countered.
• Cross: Sneaky, straight and sudden left cross with some power. He
dropped
Ion
Cutelaba with one of them.
• Right Hook: Thrown with a very tight arc and plenty of rotation,
it is accurate, quick. and powerful. It started the sequence that
knocked out Cutelaba, as it countered him coming forward.
• Left Hook: Short, accurate and powerful. He finished off Cutelaba
with it.
• Uppercuts: Features a stellar right uppercut, can time opponents
who are moving forward and even slightly dipping their heads.
Accurate, technical and powerful. He broke
Klidson
Abreu’s nose with it.
• Solitary Striker or Volume Puncher: Throws punches in bunches
constantly.
• Favorite Combination(s): Loves throwing one hook into the
other.
• Leg Kicks: Sudden and fast, on top of being powerful. He can even
throw them effectively from the lead foot.
• Body Kicks: Brutal and textbook.
• Head kicks: Rank among the best in the sport, especially from the
left side. Ridiculously fast, sudden and powerful. He has proven he
can cut down opponents with a front kick variant, as he showed
against
Dalcha
Lungiambula.
• Chains Kicks to Punches: Does so to great effect. He can throw a
powerful kick to any part of the body at the end of a punching
combination.
Ankalaev has outstanding striking skills, with a myriad of
threats and powerful blows. He is calm and patient, waiting for his
moment to strike. When he chooses to do so, opponents are often in
serious trouble. Switching stances, he has deadly hooks with either
hand, possessing perfect technique, as well as considerable
accuracy and power. Ankalaev also has a deadly left cross and can
catch grapplers closing the distance with a superb right uppercut,
with both punches being technical, accurate and powerful. However,
his kicks may be the most lethal weapons in his toolbox. Those he
throws to the legs and body are exceptional, having every quality
one could desire. However, the left head kick—one of the best in
the sport—has claimed numerous knockout victims. As if that were
not enough, he throws a sharp front kick to the head, too.
Opponents have plenty to worry about when the exchange with
Ankalaev on the feet.
CLINCH
• Physical Strength: More than holds his own physically against
grapplers and uses his strong legs to deter trip attempts.
• Technique: Shows a nice sense of balance, fighting well for
underhooks.
• Knees: Quick and powerful, but he only fires them on occasion,
not wanting to be taken down off of them.
• Elbows: Fast and dynamic, though they lack some accuracy and, as
a result, power.
• Defense Against Knees/Elbows: He can be hit with knees to the
body.
Ankalaev is potent in close quarters. He can easily defend most
takedown attempts and has the ability to score far more efficiently
than his opponents with his technical, fast knees and
elbows.
GRAPPLING
• Wrestling from a Shot: Never does it at his current level.
• Wrestling in the Clinch: Limited, but he can catch kicks.
However, Abreu managed to easily defend his double-leg at close
range.
• Takedown Defense: Utilizes a quick sprawl by which he angles off
nicely and depends on fantastic hips to rotate with attempts from
range. In the clinch, he jockeys well for underhooks and leans on
strong legs, which do not budge from attempted trips.
• Ability to Return to Feet: He has shown the ability to hip escape
and wall walk, though he has not found himself in that situation of
late.
• Submissions: Likely has them in his arsenal, but he has never
executed one. He prefers to strike from the top.
• Defense/Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu from the Bottom: Rarely finds himself
in a disadvantageous position.
• Top Control: Blocks sweeps and opponents’ attempts to get up by
staying heavy and tight on top.
• Ground-and-Pound: Gets his body into punches on occasion but
favors an utterly brutal elbow that can slice open an opponent when
it lands.
Ankalaev’s grappling is mostly defensive in nature. His offense
is limited to catching the occasional kick and converting
knockdowns from striking or well-defended takedowns into top
position. While he has some degree of control and potent
ground-and-pound, particularly his elbows, he is generally focused
on defense against many opponents. He can turn the corner with a
quick sprawl and fantastic hips, and he has shown an ability to
rotate with any takedown attempt. Moreover, he has tremendous
strength in his legs, which makes him virtually invulnerable to
trips. With that being said, Ankalaev has not yet faced a truly
elite grappler, so some questions remain unanswered.
INTANGIBLES
• Athleticism/General Physical Strength: Comparable to others of
his ilk.
• Cardio: He manages his energy exceedingly well, staying calm and
fighting within himself. As a result, he does not slow down at all
over the course of a fighter, whether it be three rounds or
five.
• Chin: Dependable. He has been hurt by hard connections, but he
has not yet been knocked down, let alone finished, in a striking
exchange.
• Recuperative Powers: He can quickly recover from stunning blows
and come back with his own offense.
• Intelligence: An exceedingly calm, patient and disciplined
fighter, Ankalaev recognizes opportunities and takes full advantage
of them.