Paulo Costa Jan Blachowicz Reject Ankalaev Call

Paulo Costa saw the Ankalaev call less like an opportunity and more like a bill arriving with somebody else’s name on it.

The UFC had a main event problem in Abu Dhabi after Khalil Rountree Jr. was no longer part of the July 25 booking opposite Magomed Ankalaev. That kind of gap usually produces frantic phone calls, swollen promises and a few fighters pretending they were never near their phone. This time, two recognizable names have put their versions on the record, and neither version flatters the offer.

Costa and Jan Blachowicz both say they were contacted before Bogdan Guskov ended up with the spot. The interesting part is not that they passed or paused. It is how plainly both men described the arithmetic: an elite light heavyweight, a punishing travel schedule, an abbreviated runway and not enough extra incentive to make the gamble feel rational.

Paulo Costa Jan Blachowicz explain Magomed Ankalaev talks

Costa’s account came during an appearance with Ariel Helwani, where he said the UFC reached out on Sunday about stepping in against Ankalaev. His answer was rooted in practical damage control rather than bravado. He was being asked to take a scheduled five-rounder overseas, against one of the division’s most difficult assignments, without the kind of title stakes or financial bump that would usually soften that risk.

The scale made the decision even easier to understand. Costa said he was around 234 pounds, and he estimated that a responsible move down to 205 would require roughly seven or eight weeks. That detail matters. Costa has been talking about his position at light heavyweight after moving up from middleweight, but there is a difference between entering a division with a plan and sprinting into Ankalaev with a body still pointed in the wrong direction.

Blachowicz says the UFC moved on while he checked the cut

Blachowicz had a narrower miss. The former 205-pound champion wrote on X that he initially was not certain he could make the weight, then later told the promotion he would accept the bout without asking for a catchweight. By that stage, he said, Guskov had already been chosen. It is a very modern UFC twist: a fighter takes a few hours to judge whether he can meet the limit properly, and the emergency seat is gone before his answer lands.

• Khalil Rountree Jr.’s exit forced the UFC to search for an Abu Dhabi headliner.
• Magomed Ankalaev stayed on the July 25 card with Bogdan Guskov stepping in.
• Paulo Costa said his weight was about 234 pounds when the call came.
• Jan Blachowicz says he is now waiting for a revised Serbia assignment.

UFC Abu Dhabi fallout leaves light heavyweight picture unsettled

Costa also linked the timing to his wider frustration with the promotion. He has publicly pushed for the final fight on his current deal, and when Helwani raised whether this sudden Ankalaev offer could be connected to that situation, Costa agreed it was a fair question and criticized the way some UFC negotiations play out. Strip away the jokes and social media tone, and his point is simple: if the company wants a fighter to rescue a major bout on bad notice, the terms have to reflect the hazard.

Blachowicz’s situation creates its own mess. He had been tied to a rematch with Guskov for the UFC’s Serbia plans, but Guskov’s jump to the Abu Dhabi main event leaves that booking in need of repair. The stakes are not abstract here. Ankalaev keeps activity and avoids losing a date, Guskov receives the biggest opening of his UFC run, Costa preserves his light heavyweight reset, and Blachowicz waits while the matchmakers reshuffle the board. In a division where title paths have already been shaped by timing, availability and sudden vacancies, one accepted phone call can move several contenders at once.

The UFC can still call this a save because the poster has a fight and Ankalaev has an opponent. That does not mean Costa or Blachowicz made irrational choices by refusing to absorb all the downside on a compressed timeline. The confirmed result is that Ankalaev is scheduled to face Guskov on July 25 in Abu Dhabi.