UFC Abu Dhabi Main Event Altered After Khalil Rountree Jr. Injury Forces a Change

The UFC Abu Dhabi main event has been reshaped after Khalil Rountree Jr. was removed from his scheduled matchup with Magomed Ankalaev, according to UFC’s announcement reported by Yahoo Sports. The change comes with the card set for next Saturday at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, where the former champion Ankalaev was originally expected to face a former title challenger.

In the revised booking, tenth-ranked Bogdan Guskov is scheduled to fight Ankalaev instead. The same report indicates that Guskov was previously slated to rematch Jan Blachowicz, adding a layer of complication to how the UFC reshuffled the top of the event rather than simply swapping in a late replacement.

The original plan highlighted Ankalaev’s position in the title conversation. As described in the report, Ankalaev entered the fight as a former champion, while Rountree Jr. was characterized as a former title challenger. With Rountree sidelined, the matchup’s storyline changes from one high-profile path toward contention to another, even if both fighters were positioned as serious threats in their respective weight class ranking framework.

Guskov’s insertion also shifts the competitive picture in a notable way. The report specifically calls him “tenth-ranked,” which indicates UFC is still aiming to place Ankalaev against an opponent close enough to the upper echelon to keep the winner’s momentum meaningful. For Guskov, stepping into the main event role is a major opportunity, but it also comes with reduced time to prepare for a specific matchup if he was expecting the Blachowicz fight instead.

The mention that Guskov was supposed to rematch Jan Blachowicz matters because it suggests the UFC did not just address one isolated injury. Instead, the event’s top-level slate appears to have required a domino effect, with an alternate pairing replacing another storyline bout. For fans, that can affect how to value the event’s title-picture implications, because rematch narratives and stylistic matchups often carry different weight than fresh matchups.

As of now, the key verified points are limited to the matchup change and the fact that UFC cited an injury for Rountree Jr.’s withdrawal, with Guskov stepping in. Detailed confirmations such as official weigh-in updates, the final bout order, and any additional card rearrangements may require follow-up once the UFC posts the updated event lineup.

For what to watch next, the most immediate questions are how quickly Guskov can adjust to the new opponent and how the fight dynamics settle without Rountree’s expected game plan. Since both Ankalaev and Guskov are presented as ranked contenders in the report, the outcome could still reverberate through the lightweight or light heavyweight title pathway, depending on the division context for the Abu Dhabi main event as listed by the UFC in its final materials.

Until the UFC’s own updated press release or event poster is confirmed, details beyond the reported opponent switch should be treated as subject to change. Still, the reshuffling underscores how quickly UFC events can pivot when injuries disrupt a carefully built title-relevant matchup.