UFC Fight Night results, highlights: Magomed Ankalaev outpoints Thiago Santos to move closer to title shot

The light heavyweights took a measured approach over five rounds on Saturday with the Russian getting the upper hand

Magomed Ankalaev and Thiago Silva entered their UFC Fight Night main event on Saturday night with designs on edging closer to a light heavyweight title shot. Ankalaev ultimately picked up the unanimous decision win, extending his division-best winning streak, but few are likely to call for him to get a shot at the division crown after a fight that was severely lacking in action from both men.

Much of the five-round bout was spent with the two men circling and feinting, showing supreme respect for the power of the other but engaging little with anything resembling effective offense.

While Ankalaev got the best of nearly every striking exchange, Santos was the man who came closest to finishing the bout, unloading a dangerous attack late in Round 2 and knocking Ankalaev to the canvas. Time ran out on Santos' chance to finish, however, and the Brazilian was never close to scoring the finish from the point on.

Ankalaev chose to only rarely engage with his high-level wrestling game, instead sticking to the slow-paced striking exchanges aside from brief moments of grappling in the fourth and fifth rounds.

"Yes, there were some moments where I could have taken it to the ground and my coach was telling me I should grapple and wrestle more," Ankalaev said after the fight. "But I took the opportunity when the time was right for it."

After doing enough to edge out rounds by landing a bit more effectively than Santos, who relied primarily on wild strikes, the official scorecards all went in Ankalaev's favor, with scores of 49-46, 49-46 and 48-47.

Ankalaev has now won eight consecutive fights in the UFC, tying the second-longest winning streak in division history. That success, he believes, is enough to land him in the Octagon with the winner of the upcoming fight between light heavyweight champion Glover Teixeira and challenger Jiri Prochazka.

"I feel that I deserve a title fight," Ankalaev said. "It will depend on the UFC who my next opponent will be but I feel I deserve a title fight."

CBS Sports was with you the entire way on Saturday bringing you all the results and highlights from the UFC Fight Night card. 

UFC Fight Night card and results

• Magomed Ankalaev def. Thiago Santos via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 48-47)
• Song Yadong def. Marlon Moraes via first-round knockout (punch)
• Sodiq Yusuff def. Alex Caceres via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
• Khalil Rountree Jr. def. Karl Roberson via second-round TKO (punches)
• Drew Dober def. Terrance McKinney via first-round TKO (punches)
• Alex Pereira def. Bruno Silva via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Matthew Semelsberger def. AJ Fletcher via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• JJ 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)

[Mar 12, 2022 at 9:50 pm ET · Brent Brookhouse]

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

[Mar 12, 2022 at 9:49 pm ET · Brent Brookhouse]

This should be an easy Ankalaev decision but the lack of action certainly puts questionable scorecards in play.

[Mar 12, 2022 at 9:49 pm ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Thiago Santos vs. Magomed Ankalaev -- Round 5: Santos looked tired in his corner but came out throwing some leg kicks. Ankalaev controlled most of the first half of the round with simple, straight punches before driving in and grabbing a body lock. Ankalaev held Santos against the cage landing knees to the legs, wearing on Santos until the end of the round, finishing off a very, very slow fight with very little action.

[Mar 12, 2022 at 9:43 pm ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Thiago Santos vs. Magomed Ankalaev -- Round 4: Santos came out aggressive, hitting a jumping knee and some wild punches as he started to push the pave but then he backed off and let Ankalaev push him to the cage again. Ankalaev started to counter Santos' aggression more effectively, punishing Santos for attempts to engage. In the final minute, Ankalaev finally initiated a bit of grappling, grabbing a body lock and scoring a takedown with 30 seconds left in the round, doing some decent work from the top before the round ended.

[Mar 12, 2022 at 9:37 pm ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Thiago Santos vs. Magomed Ankalaev -- Round 3: Ankalaev nearly landed a head kick early. The pace slowed a lot again for the first half of the round, both men looking hesitant to engage and leave openings for counter shots. Both finally opened up a bit with big shots that nearly landed though Ankalaev got the better of most of the exchanges. Ankalaev's success brought out a bit of urgency from Santos late but the fight, slow as it was, was tilting in Ankalaev's favor.

[Mar 12, 2022 at 9:30 pm ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Thiago Santos vs. Magomed Ankalaev -- Round 2: Santos tried a head kick but saw it blocked so he returned to some leg kicks as Ankalaev searched for perfect opportunities to let his strikes go. The fight saw a lot of hesitation and feinting but very little in ters of actual strikes thrown though Ankalae did have a nice moment with a straight punch and a blocked head kick. Ankalaev landed a late left hand but Santos hurt him badly with a few big punches, dropping Ankalaev and landing elbows on the ground before the horn.

[Mar 12, 2022 at 9:24 pm ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Thiago Santos vs. Magomed Ankalaev -- Round 1: Santos threw leg kicks early, looking to establish distance and take adantage of a vulnerability Ankalaev has shown in some recent fights. Ankalaev landed a hard right hand after Santos missed with a wild power strike of his own. Ankalaev again got the better of a striking exchange by slipping a Santos shot and landing a heavy straight left hand. The end of the round mostly turned into a staring contest with neither man landing anything meaningful.

[Mar 12, 2022 at 9:08 pm ET · Brent Brookhouse]

We now head along to the main event. Thiago Santos vs. Magomed Ankalaev, five rounds in the light heavyweight division.

[Mar 12, 2022 at 9:00 pm ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Marlon Moraes vs. Song Yadong -- Round 1: Yadong charged forward to throw a series of punches but Moraes was able to slide backward. Yadong landed a big right hand that stumbled Moraes backward. Moraes recovered and started moving and looking to land heavy combination strikes. Yadong landed a massive uppercut that sent Moraes crashing backward to the canvas, bringing the fight to an abrupt end. Yadong shows his power once again! Official result: Song Yadong def. Marlon Moraes via KO, Round 1