Rizvan Kuniev

Magomed Ankalaev climbed three places to fourth in the monthly top-15 ranking of Russian MMA fighters across all weight classes, following his early stoppage of Bogdan Guskov. Usman Nurmagomedov entered the list at eighth, while ACB light heavyweight champion Muslim Magomedov and UFC heavyweight Rizvan Kuniev made their debuts in the rankings. Islam Makhachev leads the table with 480 points, followed by Petr Yan and Khamzat Chimaev. The poll is compiled monthly by 30 MMA journalists, bloggers, and experts.

Makhachev, Chimaev, Yan+3

Rizvan Kuniev revealed that when he arrived at American Top Team in June 2024, he weighed 145 kilograms and had to shed 25 kg in roughly two and a half months to compete in the Contender Series. Kuniev explained that a combination of personal problems, poor sleep, and months away from training had caused him to fall badly out of shape. He noted that UFC had flown him to São Paulo, Brazil for a one-day photo shoot during that period, capturing footage of him in noticeably poor physical condition.

Rizvan Kuniev stopped Tyrell Fortune in the third round with two consecutive knee strikes at UFC Abu Dhabi. The heavyweight heavyweight earned a dominant early finish in what has been a strong run since joining the UFC at age 33.

Fortune

All fighters on the UFC Abu Dhabi card successfully made weight at Thursday's official weigh-in. In the main event, Magomed Ankalaev and Bogdan Guskov both came in at 93.2 kg, while flyweight contenders Steve Erzeg and Ramazan Temirov both weighed 57.2 kg. The full card — including Islam Dulatov, Rizvan Kuniev, Magomed Zainukov, Ismail Bonfim, Santiago Ponzinibbio, and others — cleared the scales ahead of tomorrow's event.

Souza, Arce, Borshchev+32