It’s taken a few fights, but it feels like Alatagheili is finally settled into his place on the UFC roster and could be poised to emerge as yet another fighter to keep tabs on in the already loaded bantamweight division.
After debuting in the promotion with consecutive victories over Danaa Batgerel and Ryan Benoit, the now 30-year-old fighter from Mongolia went without a victory over his next two fights, raising questions about his ability to compete at this level. But his loss to Casey Kenney and a draw against Gustavo Lopez — in a fight where he was deducted a point for repeatedly grabbing the fence — were quickly forgotten in April when “The Mongolian Knight” marched across the cage and dispatched Kevin Croom in 47 seconds.
In Vegas For UFC 279? Here’s What’s Going On For Fight Week!
In the moment, the two-fight stretch without a victory looked troubling, but now, coming off a commanding effort against “Crash” earlier this year, Alatangheili arrives at UFC 279 with an 11-2-2 record over his last 15 fights; an impressive overall run, despite a couple stumbles.
Saturday night in Las Vegas, the returning bantamweight takes on Chad Anheliger, a Canadian veteran coming off a third-round stoppage win in his promotional debut that pushed his winning streak to 10.
It’s a competitive fight against an experienced veteran playing with house money, which makes it the perfect type of matchup to determine whether Alatangheili is officially a Fighter on the Rise, or more of a stalwart in the lower half of the division that can be counted on to delivering entertaining fights each time out.
