Margomad Ankaraev vs Anthony Smith
Derek Lewis vs Sergey Pavlovic
The UFC 277 tournament, which will be held on July 30, will add a closely watched light heavyweight showdown, with Russian rising star Margomed Ankaraev against American toughster Anthony Smith.
Margomede Ankaraev (17-1, 9 K, 0 S) is 29 years old and has a height of 191 cm with an arm span of 191 cm. He began his professional MMA career in 2014, winning the WFCA Light Heavyweight Championship in 2016 and the defending title once in 2017. Joining the UFC in 2018 with a (9-0) score, although he suffered his first career defeat in the UFC debut by Paul Craig in the third set, he has since played an eight-game winning streak, including the first KO Ion Cutelaba in 2020, the February 2021 points victory over Nikita Krylov, and the October points victory over Volkan Kollah. Volkan Oezdemir just beat Thiago Santos in Points in March this year. Ankarayev is currently ranked 4th in the light heavyweight category in the official UFC rankings.
Anthony Smith (36-16, 20 K, 14 S) is 33 years old and has a height of 193cm arm span of 193cm. He began his professional MMA career in 2008 and competed in the UFC tournament in 2013 with a (18-9) result, but was demoted in the first set and left the octagonal cage. He won the CFFC MiddleWeights in 2015 and defended his title once, and in 2016 he won the VFC MiddleWeights, before returning to UFC with a (25-11) result and seven consecutive wins, and has achieved (11-5) results at the UFC so far. Jon Jones, who challenged former UFC light heavyweight champion "Bone" in March 2019, lost a number of points, defeated Alexander Gustafsson in the fourth set in June, lost the fifth TKO by Glover Teixeira in May 2020, and defeated Aleksandar Rakic in August. With three recent consecutive wins, Devin Clark was demoted in the first innings in November 2020, TKO Jimmy Crute in april 2021 and Ryan Spann in the first inning in September. Smith is currently ranked 5th in the UFC official lightweight bracket.
The tournament also confirmed a high-profile heavyweight showdown, with American star Derek Lewis (26-9, 21 K, 1 S, 1 N) against Russian rising star Sergei Pavlovic (15-1, 12 K, 0 S).
Match Match Chart:
Heavyweight Competition:
Derrick Lewis (#5) vs. Sergei Pavlovich (#11)
Light Heavyweight Competition:
Magomed Ankalaev (#4) vs. Anthony Smith (#5)
Past interviews
Directed by Li Ke
Kung Fu star Li Bingyuan Jackie Chan female disciple Xu Dongmei