UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou called for giving the championship belt to Magomed Ankalaev after his fight against Jan Blachowicz on December 11 at UFC 282.
Usually in training camp the guys stay away from me. But Ankalaev was the only one who challenged me to two rounds of sparring last week. He really wants the title. Ankalaev won the fight. Give this guy his [...] belt.
Francis Ngannou
The fight between Ankalaev and Blachowicz, which lasted the entire distance, ended in a draw by split decision of the judges. Thus, the UFC light heavyweight championship belt remained vacant.
In March of this year at the UFC Fight Night 203 tournament Ankalaev appeared in the octagon against a Brazilian Thiago Santos. That fight ended with a unanimous decision of the judges. He has 17 wins and one defeat under his belt. Blachowicz has 29 wins and nine defeats on his record.