"Boring!" - TJ Dillashaw lambasts Magomed Ankalaev after Bogdan Guskov win at UFC Abu Dhabi

Magomed Ankalaev is faced with considerable criticism from yet another prominent MMA personality. This time around, it's former UFC bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw. 

The retired MMA fighter labeled Ankalaev "boring" after his most recent octagon appearance that transpired at UFC Abu Dhabi on July 25. 

TJ Dillashaw lambasts Magomed Ankalaev over his "boring" fighting style after UFC Abu Dhabi debacle

In a recent edition of the JAXXON Podcast, TJ Dillashaw and Bear Degidio welcomed two-time UFC featherweight title challenger Diego Lopes. They discussed various topics, including the recently concluded UFC Abu Dhabi event's headlining match that featured Magomed Ankalaev and Bogdan Guskov. 

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Ankalaev was supposed to take on Khalil Rountree Jr., who is, incidentally, no stranger to the JAXXON Podcast. Unfortunately, Rountree Jr. was sidelined from UFC Abu Dhabi owing to an injury. 

Meanwhile, a significant card reshuffling between UFC Abu Dhabi and UFC Serbia resulted in Ankalaev getting a late-replacement opponent in the form of Bogdan Guskov.

Ankalaev beat Uzbekistan's Guskov via fifth-round TKO in the main event of the UFC Abu Dhabi card. Despite the win, the former 205-pound ruler was castigated by a number of fans and experts alike for the long periods of inactivity in the fight, as was Guskov. 

Well, TJ Dillashaw and his acquaintances on the JAXXON Podcast alluded to the controversial fight. In response to Bear Degidio asking whether the victory propelled Ankalaev into the title picture again, Dillashaw sounded off on the Dagestani fighter, stating: 

"Boring!" He continued, "He's just so boring. He's just such a point fighter. You can't fight him the way that Guskov did. You can't, like, stand in his distance and let him. He's a one punch, one kick at a time kind of guy."

Dillashaw harked back to Ankalaev's unanimous decision win over Alex Pereira in their first fight in March of 2025, wherein he suggested Pereira got into a point-fighting battle with Ankalaev and lost. 

He juxtaposed that with their rematch from October of 2025, in which Pereira didn't spend too much time at Ankalaev's preferred range -- the long range -- and pushed him on the backfoot. "Poatan" ultimately knocked him out and leveled their series of fights, ending Ankalaev's title reign. 

Explaining how one ought to fight Ankalaev, Dillashaw said: 

"You can't let him (Magomed Ankalaev) fight his fight. You gotta put the pressure on him. You gotta make the fight him going backwards. Yes, you're doing some risk. But it's a lot better than you just sitting there and losing a fight."

Moreover, Dillashaw pointed out that Guskov landed a good left head kick when Ankalaev switched to the orthodox stance, but he added that the Uzbek fighter didn't exploit that opening thereafter. 

He noted, "When he switched to orthodox, use that left kick 'cause his defense wasn't as good there. You just can't let him pick his shots." 

Watch TJ Dillashaw give his assessment of the Magomed Ankalaev vs. Bogdan Guskov fight below: 

Magomed Ankalaev's UFC light heavyweight predicament comes to the fore after UFC Abu Dhabi performance

Magomed Ankalaev is currently ranked No. 2 in the UFC light heavyweight division on the official Meta UFC rankings, whereas former UFC middleweight and light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira stands at the No. 1 spot.

Nevertheless, Pereira is considered to be a de facto heavyweight, as he's consistently maintained that his goal is to become a three-division champion by capturing the elusive UFC heavyweight title. That, in turn, is highlighted as a major element in Magomed Ankalaev's light heavyweight predicament. 

The 34-year-old has been quite vocal about his intentions to avenge his TKO loss against Pereira, vowing to pursue the Brazilian fighter at light heavyweight and even at heavyweight.

However, Ankalaev has also underlined that he's focused on reclaiming the UFC light heavyweight title, which currently belongs to Carlos Ulberg. As of this time, it's unclear as to whom "Big Ank" would fight the next time he sets foot inside the octagon.