Russian bantamweight contender Umar Nurmagomedov catapulted himself into championship contention with a unanimous decision victory over No. 2-ranked contender Cory Sandhagen at UFC Abu Dhabi.
The pair faced off in a five-round main event matchup at Etihad Arena on Yas Island, where Nurmagomedov showed he had the skills, and the temperament, to defeat perennial contender Sandhagen on the scorecards with scores of 50-45, 49-46, 49-46, and put himself next in line for a shot at the 135-pound title.
The division is currently headed by American Sean O’Malley, who will put his title on the line against No. 1 contender Merab Dvalishvili in the main event of UFC 306 at Sphere on September 14.
And now, thanks to his big performance in the UAE, the undefeated Nurmagomedov, whose career record sits at 18-0, should be next up to face the winner. Sandhagen, for his part, admitted that he’d lost to the better man on the night, and predicted that Nurmagomedov would go on to win the title. He also stated that he’d be back in the mix very soon, too.
Nurmagomedov’s victory completed a Dagastani one-two in the top two fights of the night, with rising middleweight Shara “Bullet” Magomedov outpointing Polish striker Michal Oleksiejczuk 30-27, 30-27, 29-28 to improve his perfect professional record to 14-0.
Also on the main card in Abu Dhabi, former UFC flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo continued his rise up the bantamweight division with a unanimous decision win over longtime contender Marlon Vera, while Michael Chiesa finished fellow Octagon veteran Tony Ferguson via first-round submission.
After the fight, Ferguson left one glove in the Octagon as he hinted at potential retirement, but by leaving with one glove still on his hand, he left the door open for a return, despite now being on an eight-fight skid, with his last win coming more than five years ago.
The main card also saw Mackenzie Dern earn a unanimous decision victory over Loopy Godinez in their strawweight matchup, and the card kicked off with a third-round TKO victory for Spain’s Joel Alvarez, wh ostopped Elves Brener mid-way through the final frame in his first fight in more than a year.
The prelims saw light heavyweight Azamat Murzakanov stun Alonzo Menifield for a second-round knockout victory, while Kaue Fernandes finished Mohammad Yahya via TKO in the first round of their lightweight bout.
There were contrasting fortunes for the two British fighters on the card. Wolverhampton’s former Cage Warriors lightweight champion Jai Herbert showed some crisp boxing and smart fight IQ to defeat Rolando Bedoya, but former Cage Warriors featherweight champ Jordan Vucenic couldn’t quite turn his short-notice UFC call-up into a debut victory.
“The Epidemic” looked outstanding in the first round of his lightweight bout with Guram Kutateladze and looked close to earning a finish when he dropped his man and swarmed him late in the first round.
But Kutateladze did well to get out of the first round and responded with a strong second stanza to put the fight back on a knife-edge heading into the third. With Vucenic appearing to be told by his corner that he was two rounds up, Kutateladze took the initiative in the third round and, with Vucenic seemingly focusing on avoiding a finish, rather than winning the round, his chance of victory ebbed away, as the Swedish-based Georgian claimed the unanimous decision victory, with 29-28s across the board.
UFC Abu Dhabi: Official results
MAIN CARD
- Umar Nurmagomedov def. Cory Sandhagen via unanimous decision (50-45, 49-46, 49-46)
- Shara Magomedov vs. Michal Oleksiejczuk via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
- Deiveson Figueiredo def. Marlon Vera via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
- Michael Chiesa def. Tony Ferguson via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 3:44
- Mackenzie Dern def. Loopy Godinez via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Joel Alvarez def. Elves Brener via TKO (knees and punches) – Round 3, 3:36
PRELIMINARY CARD
- Azamat Murzakanov def. Alonzo Menifield via knockout (punches) – Round 2, 3:!8
- Kaue Fernandes def. Mohammed Yahya via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 4:45
- Shamil Gaziev def. Don’Tale Mayes via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Guram Kutateladze def. Jordan Vucenic via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Sam Hughes def. Victoria Dudakova via split decision (27-30, 29-28, 29-28)
- Jai Herbert def. Rolando Bedoya via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
- Sedriques Dumas def. Denis Tiuliulin via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
