Magomed Ankalaev faces Bogdan Guskov at UFC Abu Dhabi after Rountree pulls out

Magomed Ankalaev will face Bogdan Guskov in the UFC Abu Dhabi main event after Khalil Rountree withdrew from the July 25 card.

The UFC confirmed the switch Monday, with Guskov stepping in to meet Ankalaev at Etihad Arena. MMA Fighting reports the promotion did not disclose a reason for Rountree's exit, though Ankalaev indicated his original opponent pulled out with an injury. Guskov was slated to rematch Jan Blachowicz at UFC Belgrade on Aug. 1, but that bout is off the schedule after being postponed once already from UFC 328 due to a Blachowicz injury.

Blachowicz says he was offered Ankalaev fight first

Blachowicz released a statement after the announcement claiming he was the first choice to replace Rountree. "UFC offered me to fight Ankalaev first. I wasn't sure if I'm gonna make the weight," he wrote on social media. After confirming he could make heavyweight/" class="internal-link text-bone underline decoration-ash/30 hover:decoration-gold underline-offset-2">light heavyweight without a catchweight agreement, the bout with Guskov was already finalized. Blachowicz said he still expects to compete at UFC Belgrade.

Ankalaev sits third in the MMA Fighting Global Rankings after dropping the UFC light heavyweight title back to Alex Pereira at UFC 320 last October. The Russian ended Pereira's reign as champion before losing the immediate rematch, his first defeat since debuting in the promotion in March 2018. Guskov, ranked 12th, has a chance to crack the top five with a win over the former titleholder.

Guskov fought Blachowicz to a majority draw at UFC 323, and the pair had been rebooked twice to settle the score. Both men now move forward with different opponents, Ankalaev on July 25 and Blachowicz awaiting a new assignment for the Belgrade card.

Reported via:

• MMA Fighting — Magomed Ankalaev fights Bogdan Guskov in new UFC Abu Dhabi main event with Khalil Rountree out