After months of speculations, Ion Cutelaba and Magomed Ankalaev finally entered the octagon to settle the beef for once and forever at UFC 254. The first fight ended with a controversial stoppage where Cutelaba was trying to trap Ankalaev into a big right hand by acting like he was rocked.
Many fans thought Ankalaev won the fight while many fans supported Cutelaba. But, the rematch did not need any referee to decide who the better fighter is. Magomaed Ankalaev viciously knocked out Ion Cutelaba in the first round.
Ion Cutelaba did look good in the rematch. He landed some solid strikes on Ankalaev. However, he seemed a bit reckless while chasing Ankalaev across the octagon. Instead of trying to cut the cage and lure Ankalaev to his powerful right hand, Cutelaba kept chasing him to close the distance and land his shots.
And while he was lunging in to land a strike, Magomaed Ankalaev caught him with a left hand from hell and dropped him. Cutelaba tried to cover up and survive the round but Magomed finished the fight with some vicious ground and pound.
Magomed Ankalaev just kicked #UFC254 off with a BANG!https://t.co/IyKdhdod6d
— Spinnin Backfist (@SpinninBackfist) October 24, 2020
Magomed Ankalaev puts the light heavyweight division on UFC 254
This fight just goes to show how good Magomaed Ankalaev is. Ion Cutelaba has a solid chin and his unpredictability causes trouble to a lot of light heavyweights. But, Ankalaev showed that he can fight a smart fight under pressure. And he has the power to knock guys out at the light heavyweight division.
With this win, Ankalaev has the longest winning streak in the light heavyweight division and he seems a big threat to the top contenders in that division.
As far as, Ion Cutelaba is concerned he needs to make some changes in his gameplan. Though his unpredictability and wildness inside the octagon are exciting for the fans it has not done a lot of good to him when it comes to winning the fights.
UFC 254 has been full of some wars and exciting finishes so far as we look forward to the much anticipated main event between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Justin Gaethje.
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