Former UFC light heavyweight champion Magomed Ankalaev returns to action to battle No. 5-ranked Khalil Rountree Jr. atop the upcoming UFC Abu Dhabi fight card, recently announced for Sat., July 25, 2026 at Etihad Arena on “Fight Island” in Abu Dhabi, UAE.
And he’ll do it as the -310 betting favorite.
That’s according to the number crunchers over at BetOnline.ag, who pegged Rountree as the +260 underdog. Ankalaev (20-2-1, 1 NC) is looking to rebound from his technical knockout loss to Alex Pereira at UFC 320 last fall. As for “War Horse” (14-7, 1 NC), he also competed at UFC 320, going down in flames against former champion Jiri Prochazka.
A spot in the 205-pound title chase hangs in the balance at UFC Abu Dhabi.
The July 25 lineup (see it here) also features the bantamweight battle pitting Umar Nurmagomedov against David Martinez. Elsewhere on the card, Valter Walker collides with Thomas Petersen in heavyweight action, not long after Steve Erceg and Ramazan Temirov go to war at 125 pounds.
UFC Abu Dhabi odds for the rest of the “Ankalaev vs. Rountree Jr.” card are expected to drop in the next few days.