Who won the fight between Thiago Santos and Magomed Ankalaev (12th March 2022)?

UFC Vegas 50 featured a light heavyweight bout between Thiago Santos and Magomed Ankalaev in the main event. Ankalaev managed to outperform Santos over the course of five rounds, and the Russian walked away with a unanimous decision win. The judges scored the fight 49-46, 49-46, 48-47 in his favor.

Although it was Ankalaev who seemingly won every striking exchange, Santos came extremely close to bringing the fight to an end late in the second round as he knocked Ankalaev down. However, he wasn't left with enough time to finish the bout at that point.

The outing marked the Makhachkala native's debut in the main event of a fight card. The win against 'Marreta' improved his winning streak to eight wins in the UFC, moving him up to third place in the list of longest win streaks in the light heavyweight division.

In the aftermath of his decision win against the Brazilian, Magomed Ankalaev staked his claim for the title. He declared that he was hoping to bag an opportunity to capitalize on his win streak and fight for the title in his next outing.

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UFC Vegas 50: Thiago Santos vs. Magomed Ankalaev main card results

Magomed Ankalaev def. Thiago Santos via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 48-47)

Song Yadong def. Marlon Moraes via KO (2:06 of Round 1)

Sodiq Yusuff def. Alex Caceres via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

Khalil Rountree def. Karl Roberson via TKO (0:25 of Round 2)

Drew Dober def. Terrance McKinney via TKO (3:17 of Round 1)

Alex Pereira def. Bruno Silva via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

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UFC Vegas 50: Thiago Santos vs. Magomed Akalaev preliminary card

Matthew Semelsberger def. A.J. Fletcher via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

J.J. Aldrich def. Gillian Robertson via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Javid Basharat def. Trevin Jones via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

Damon Jackson def. Kamuela Kirk via submission (arm-triangle choke) (4:42 of Round 2)

Miranda Maverick def. Sabina Mazo via submission (rear-naked choke) (2:15 of Round 2)

Cody Brundage def. Dalcha Lungiambula via submission (guillotine) (3:41 of Round 1)

Guido Cannetti def. Kris Moutinho via TKO (2:07 of Round 1)

Azamat Murzakanov def. Tafon Nchukwi via TKO (0:44 of Round 3)