Magomed Ankalaev may have left UFC Abu Dhabi with another victory, but his lackluster performance drew a quick response from one of the division’s biggest names.

Never one to hold back, Paulo Costa took aim at the former light heavyweight champion on social media following Ankalaev’s fifth-round stoppage of Bogdan Guskov in a snoozer main event that attracted widespread criticism from fans.

“By the power of the Almighty, I shall save this weigh class from monotony and boredom,” Paulo Costa wrote.

But that’s not all, as ‘The Eraser’ also shared a photo of himself training with yet another hilarious caption.

“Let’s hope this guy gets motivated to save the LHW division. I’m praying 🙏,” he added.

As expected, the comments didn’t go unnoticed. Speaking at the post-event press conference, Magomed Ankalaev stated that he wasn’t sure what Paula Costa was trying to accomplish, but he claimed he’d be pleased to go one-on-one with the Brazilian if champion Carlos Ulberg remained sidelined with a torn ACL.

After all, it was Paulo Costa who declined a short-notice replacement opportunity against Magomed Ankalaev for this very same event due to weight cut and preparation constraints.

“I’m already the number one contender, but as we know in this division right now, our champion is hurt,” he said in his native Russian. “We don’t know when he’s gonna come back. So, if he’s gonna take a long time to come back, I would like to stay active, and I believe I saw something or heard something that Costa, Paulo Costa, wrote something my direction.

“I’m not sure what he was trying to say, whether he was trying to bother me or was trying to get my attention. So, if it is indeed the champion’s gonna be out for a little while, then potentially maybe we can have a good fight with Costa, unless he’s gonna be running away.”

Even though it makes sense for ‘Big Ank’ to be miffed at Paulo Costa’s online mockery of his fight, it is worth noting that the criticism follows another divisive Ankalaev performance.

The Russian dominated Bogdan Guskov for much of the battle but earned brutal criticism universally for the lethargic pace, with long stretches of cautious striking and no intensity until securing a fifth-round TKO.

Many fans believed Magomed Ankalaev really could have wrestled far earlier, while ‘Hitman’ received criticism for failing to force the action or taking significant risks.

However, for Magomed Ankalaev, style points may matter less than staying active. With Carlos Ulberg recovering from an injury, the former champion appears unwilling to sit on the sidelines while waiting for the belt to become available. And chances are that he wouldn’t have to wait much for a title fight either, as despite the backlash surrounding the fight, ‘Black Jag’ wasn’t nearly as critical in his recent backstage interview after watching the main event at UFC Abu Dhabi.

Carlos Ulberg still sees Magomed Ankalaev as the leading contender

Despite the backlash surrounding the main event fight, UFC light heavyweight champion Carlos Ulberg wasn’t nearly as critical. Speaking backstage after UFC Abu Dhabi, the Kiwi praised Ankalaev and stated that the former titleholder remains at the front of the queue for a title opportunity.

“Yeah, congrats to Ankalaev,” he said. “I saw what I needed to see, and I will do everything that I need to do to make sure I get back in there. You know, the division is a bit shaky at the moment. No one’s sort of, well, besides myself, as, you know, with the title, but I mean, there just, nothing is sort of dominant at the moment, but I mean, again, congrats to Ankalev for getting the win.

“Well, I’ve always seen Ankalaev as a top contender. So yeah, I think he’s definitely one of the guys that’ll be up next as well.”

Magomed Ankalaev would undoubtedly enjoy the endorsement, especially given the criticism he has received over the years. In fact, Din Thomas, a former UFC fighter and analyst, suggested last year that the UFC should trade ‘Big Ank’ for PFL star Dakota Ditcheva.

“They don’t have stars. I mean, they got Dakota Ditcheva, who’s a star,” Thomas said on The Casuals MMA podcast. “I’m like, ‘Yo, please listen; if you guys like MMA, do this for MMA. Trade her to the UFC; you know she belongs in the UFC’.

“Just trade, listen, get rid of Ankalaev in the UFC; trade her for Ankalaev. We don’t need Ankalaev, you know what I’m saying.”

This very remark got back into the spotlight after Ankalaev’s main event fight at UFC Abu Dhabi, as Costa reacted to it on X with a simple, “Haha.”

Whether ‘The Eraser’ genuinely wishes to save the light heavyweight division by maybe going one-on-one with Magomed Ankalaev remains to be seen. But if Carlos Ulberg’s recovery stretches into 2027, ‘Big Ank’ has already made it clear who he’d like to face while waiting for another shot at UFC gold.