Thiago Santos vs Magomed Ankalaev betting odds, fight info and fan predictions for UFC Fight Night bout

Thiago Santos vs Magomed Ankalaev UFC fight info, date and time

Main event

Thiago Santos vs Magomed Ankalaev is set to go down at UFC Fight Night: Santos vs. Ankalaev at 11:30pm EST on Saturday 12th March 2022 in a 205lbs matchup.

Thiago Santos returned to the win column with a unanimous decision victory over Johnny Walker in October. 

Magomed Ankalaev has won seven fights on the trot since losing his UFC debut. He most recently beat Volkan Oezdemir by unanimous decision. 

Thiago Santos vs Magomed Ankalaev betting odds

Magomed Ankalaev will be the heavy favorite with opening betting odds of -445.

Thiago Santos opens as the underdog with betting odds of +355.

Fight information

Thiago Santos vs Magomed Ankalaev was first reported on November 15th, 2021.

Thiago Santos will fight Magomed Ankalaev at UFC event on March 12th. (first rep. @bokamotoESPN) #UFC #MMA #UFCESPN #MainEvent pic.twitter.com/5yVe7QUNOO

— Marcel Dorff 🇳🇱🇮🇩 (@BigMarcel24) November 19, 2021

This 205lbs matchup will serve as the headline fight at UFC Vegas 50.

Thiago Santos

Thiago Santos snapped a three-fight losing streak with a decision victory over fellow Brazilian Johnny Walker. The win took Santos to 4-3 at Light Heavyweight in the UFC.

Santos lands clean, but Walker 𝐀𝐓𝐄 𝐈𝐓 👀

[ #UFCVegas38 | LIVE on @ESPNPlus ] pic.twitter.com/ycK0sBggRc

— UFC (@ufc) October 3, 2021

Santos had lost three in a row, including his unsuccessful title challenge against Jon Jones and a submission defeat to current champion Glover Texeira. 

Magomed Ankalaev

Magomed Ankalaev has dominated the Light Heavyweight division since joining the UFC in 2018, accumulating a 7-1 record. This includes notable wins over Ion Cutaleba (x2), Marcin Prachnio and Volkan Oezdemir.

NO CONTROVERSY THIS TIME AROUND!

🇷🇺 @AnkalaevM with the finish at #UFC254 pic.twitter.com/cKmR3FnVTd

— UFC (@ufc) October 24, 2020

Ankalaev’s only professional loss came in his UFC debut against Paul Craig. With one second left in the fight, Anakalev tapped to a triangle choke.

How they match up

Thiago Santos is the much-older fighter in this matchup at 38 years old, while Ankalaev is 29.

Santos has had over twice the number of pro fights than his opponent. Santos has 35 pro fights on his record. Ankalaev has fought 17 times.

While the striking stats between these two fighters are similar, the grappling stats show Ankalaev lands almost double the number of TD’s per 15 minutes.

Reasons to watch

This is one of the best fights to make at Light Heavyweight, showing why the UFC felt it merited its own five-round headliner.

Santos and Ankalaev are both dangerous one-punch knockout artists. In Ankalaev’s case, he also has a couple of head kick KO’s on his UFC resume.

WHAT A MOVE!

Ankalaev ends the bout early! #UFCMoscow pic.twitter.com/BHAyBiniY5

— UFC (@ufc) September 15, 2018

Anything could happen in this fight, so don’t blink.

The stakes

This fight has massive implications for the future of the Light Heavyweight Division, matching #5 against #6.

Given Ankalaev’s current 7-fight win streak, a victory here would put him into the conversation for a title shot. An emphatic win would almost guarantee it.

For Santos, another win would prove he is still in title contention after his resilient split-decision loss to the consensus 205lbs G.O.A.T, Jon Jones.

Thiago Santos vs Magomed Ankalaev predictions

The oddsmakers’ predictions have Magomed Ankalaev as the sizeable favorite with betting odds of -445.

Thiago Santos vs Magomed Ankalaev picks

Get your Thiago Santos vs Magomed Ankalaev picks in.

Where to bet on Thiago Santos vs Magomed Ankalaev

Thiago Santos vs Magomed Ankalaev tale of the tape

• Significant 9 year age difference: Ankalaev is the younger fighter at 29 years old.
• Santos has a slight 1 inch reach advantage.
• Significant experience difference: Santos has 18 more professional MMA fights than Ankalaev.

Thiago Santos	vs	Magomed Ankalaev
38	Age	29
35	Fights	17
22	Wins	16
9	Losses	1
15	KO’s	8
1	Subs	1
6′ 2	Height (in)	6′ 3
76	Reach (in)	75

Thiago “Marreta” Santos fighter profile and recent form

Thiago Santos is a 38 year old male fighter from Brazil with 22 pro wins and 9 losses. See Thiago Santos’s full MMA record.

Thiago Santos has a 64% finish rate, including 15 by knockout, 1 by submission, 8 by decision.

Thiago Santos is looking to put together a winning streak, having last beaten Johnny Walker at UFC Fight Night: Santos vs. Walker.

Last 5 bouts

Result	Record	Opponent	Method	Event	Date	Weight class	Org
Win	21-9-0	Johnny Walker	DEC R5 5:00	UFC Fight Night	2021-10-02	Light Heavyweight	UFC
Loss	21-8-0	Aleksandar Rakić	DEC R3 5:00	UFC 259	2021-03-06	Light Heavyweight	UFC
Loss	21-7-0	Glover Teixeira	SUB R3 1:49	UFC Fight Night	2020-11-07	Light Heavyweight	UFC
Loss	21-6-0	Jon Jones	DEC R5 5:00	UFC 239	2019-07-06	Light Heavyweight	UFC
Win	20-6-0	Jan Błachowicz	KO/TKO R3 0:39	UFC on ESPN+ 3	2019-02-23	Light Heavyweight	UFC

Magomed Ankalaev fighter profile and recent form

Magomed Ankalaev is a 29 year old male fighter from Russia with 16 pro wins and 1 losses. See Magomed Ankalaev’s full MMA record.

Magomed Ankalaev has a 57% finish rate, including 8 by knockout, 1 by submission, 7 by decision.

Magomed Ankalaev is currently riding a 7 fight win streak.

Last 5 bouts

Result	Record	Opponent	Method	Event	Date	Weight class	Org
Win	15-1-0	Volkan Oezdemir	DEC R3 5:00	UFC 267	2021-10-30	Light Heavyweight	UFC
Win	14-1-0	Nikita Krylov	DEC R3 5:00	UFC Fight Night	2021-02-27	Light Heavyweight	UFC
Win	13-1-0	Ion Cutelaba	KO/TKO R1 4:19	UFC 254	2020-10-24	Light Heavyweight	UFC
Win	12-1-0	Ion Cutelaba	KO/TKO R1 0:38	UFC on ESPN+ 27	2020-02-29	Light Heavyweight	UFC
Win	11-1-0	Dalcha Lungiambula	KO/TKO R3 0:29	UFC on ESPN+ 21	2019-11-09	Light Heavyweight	UFC