UFC 308 Live Blog: Magomed Ankalaev vs. Aleksandar Rakic

This is the UFC 308 live blog for Magomed Ankalaev vs. Aleksandar Rakic, this Saturday's light heavyweight main event in Abu Dhabi.

Ankalaev is widely considered one of the best light heavyweights in the world and is currently ranked No. 3 in the MMA Fighting Global Rankings. He appears to be out of favor with the UFC. Despite a 12-fight unbeaten streak in the promotion, Ankalaev claimed UFC CEO Dana White told him he needed an impressive win this weekend to secure a title shot against Alex Pereira. With that in mind, Ankalaev will be hoping to score another winner on Saturday following his victorious Performance of the Night knockout of Johnny Walker in January.

Rakic ​​has been a fixture in the light heavyweight division's top 10 since joining the UFC in 2017, but has struggled to get the decisive win that would catapult him into title contention. Worse still, Rakic ​​is now on a two-fight losing streak and suffered an unfortunate injury loss to Jan Blachowicz that sidelined him for nearly two years before he was knocked out by Jiri Prochazka at UFC 300. established himself as a legitimate title threat with a big win over the black sheep of the UFC.

Check out the UFC 308 Magomed Ankalaev vs Aleksandar Rakic ​​live blog below.