Umar Nurmagomedov and Cory Sandhagen delivered five rounds of incredible action.
Saturday’s UFC Abu Dhabi main event went the distance, with Nurmagomedov earning a unanimous decision on the scorecards to remain undefeated at an incredible 18-0. Sandhagen, a one-time interim title challenger, presented a significant step up in competition for Nurmagomedov, but the Dagestani shined and eventually outlasted his gritty opponent.
Check out the official scorecards for the main event below.
#UFCAbuDhabi Official Scorecard: Cory Sandhagen vs Umar Nurmagomedov (@UNmgdv)
Judge Mike Bell scored all five rounds for Nurmagomedov, giving him a 50-45 on one card, while judges Ben Cartlidge and David Lethaby both gave Nurmagomedov the last three rounds (disagreeing on whether to also give Nurmagomedov Round 1 or Round 2). Regardless, the math adds up to another Nurmagomedov victory.
Despite the seemingly lopsided judging, the final scores don’t reflect how close several rounds were, and one or two frames in favor of Sandhagen would have surprised no one.
This is the second straight time that Nurmagomedov has had to go to the judges after he won a competitive decision against UFC newcomer Bekzat Almakhan this past March. He has finished three of his six UFC opponents.
A gigantic bantamweight bout took place on the UFC Abu Dhabi main card on Saturday. Fourth-ranked Marlon “Chito” Vera took on former flyweight champion and sixth-ranked bantamweight Deiveson Figueiredo.
Vera entered the bout coming off a loss to champion Sean O’Malley in his last fight in March. Figueiredo had put together back-to-back wins since moving up to the weight class. A win could put either fighter in title talks.
Figueiredo landed first with a leg kick. They exchanged leg kicks. Figueiredo landed to the body and changed levels and put Vera on his back. Vera tied up the arms of Figueiredo. Figueiredo posture up and delivered a right hand. Figueredo landed to the body and stood. Vera connected with an up kick and scrambled to his feet. Figueiredo landed a leg kick and circled away. Vera rushed in with a knee and Figueiredo took him down. He landed an axe kick to the body at the bell. MMAWeekly scored the round 10-9 for Figueiredo.
Figueiredo opened the second round with a leg kick. Vera answered with a left hand to the body. Figueiredo continued to land leg kicks. Vera went high with a kick but Figueiredo saw it coming. Figueiredo landed a right hand. Vera responded with a front kick to the body. Midway through the round, Vera landdd a leg kick and a right hand to the body. Figueiredo answered with a body shot. They exchanged leg kicks and Vera checked that one. Vera connected with a right hand and closed the distance. He landed a hard body shot in the closing seconds. MMAWeekly scored the round 10-9 for Vera.
Figueiredo quickly looked for a takedown to start the final round. Vera defended the attempt and they separated. They exchanged leg kicks and Figueiredo landed a right hand to the body. Figueiredo landed a right hand and Vera answered to the body. Figueiredo connected with a right hand that sat Vera down. Vera quickly got to his feet. Figueiredo went to the body. Vera landed a left hand. Figueiredo stayed busy. Each time Vera got too close, Figueiredo would clinch or look for a takedown. They picked up the pace in the final seconds. MMAWeekly scored the round 10-9 for Figueiredo.
The judges agreed and scored the fight for Figueiredo via unanimous decision. The scorecards read 29-28, 29-28, and 30-27.
Shara Magomedov continued his winning ways on Saturday as he sliced and diced his way through Michal Oleksiejczuk to win a unanimous decision in the UFC Abu Dhabi co-main event.
Despite taking the fight on short notice, Magomedov was more than ready for all three rounds as he threw his signature kicks mixed in with some devastating elbows that constantly kept Oleksiejczuk off balance. By the end of the third round, Oleksiejczuk was slumped down on the canvas with a pair of cuts around his eyes after absorbing a ton of punishment after spending 15 minutes in the cage with Magomedov.
The final scores read 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28 as Magomedov picked up another big win in the octagon. Following his victory, Magomedov offered up a curious callout.
“This is very important for me to fight here because it’s like a home crowd for me,” Magomedov said about fighting in Abu Dhabi. “This is just the start for me. I’m happy to win today.
“My next fight I want to call out Nick Diaz. You’re a striker, I’m a striker. Let’s go Abu Dhabi, October.”
Confidence in his power allowed Oleksiejczuk to actually crack Magomedov with some stinging shots at the start of the fight as he showed no fear in the exchanges with the dangerous Russian. In return, Magomedov displayed his devastating array of kicks as well as an elbow that sliced Oleksiejczuk open with a cut on his left eye.
While Magomedov kept ending up on his backfoot, he was still launching a variety of strikes at Oleksiejczuk, who was stuck reacting and just working to close the distance to employ his best punches. Concerns about conditioning have continued to plague Magomedov but fighting at a methodical pace allowed him to just pick and choose his shots against Oleksiejczuk.
Magomedov’s speed was also giving Oleksiejczuk all sorts of problems as he just didn’t see so many of the strikes coming at him from various angles. A side kick from Magomedov led to some knees up the middle as he really started pouring on the punishment to Oleksiejczuk.
Late in the fight, Magomedov uncorked a hellacious head kick that nailed Oleksiejczuk but somehow the Polish middleweight absorbed the strike and kept coming. Even a takedown from Oleksiejczuk didn’t help him much with Magomedov slicing him open again with elbows from the bottom as the action came to a close.
Now 14-0 in his career with three straight wins in the UFC, Magomedov continues to look like a future contender as he slowly but surely shows improvement with every fight.
UFC Abu Dhabi full results, live streaming updates TODAY (Sat., Aug. 3, 2024) with Cory Sandhagen vs. Umar Nurmagomedov in the main event on ABC (and ESPN+). Checkout all the action right here!
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is back in the Arabian Gulf this afternoon (Sat., Aug. 3, 2024) with UFC Abu Dhabi on ABC. The mixed martial arts (MMA) event, which takes place inside Etihad Arena — a.k.a. “Fight Island” — in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, will be streamed LIVE on ABC and ESPN+. The main event is a Bantamweight title eliminator with Cory Sandhagen meeting the undefeated Umar Nurmagomedov. The co-main does not feature Nick Diaz because of “travel issues.” His bout with Vicente Luque was scrapped, but in its place we have Shara Magomedov fighting Michal Oleksiejczuk.
UFC Abu Dhabi’s main card didn’t lose all its veterans when Diaz fell out, though.
Indeed, Tony Ferguson vs. Michael Chiesa is on the main card in what might be (or should be) Ferguson’s last UFC fight. There’s also Deiveson Figueiredo vs. Marlon Vera, Mackenzie Dern vs. Loopy Godinez and Joel Alvarez vs. Elves Brener.
The “Prelims” card features Azamat Murzakanov vs. Alonzo Menifield. The undercard also includes Guram Kutateladze vs. Jordan Vucenic and Victoria Dudakova vs. Sam Hughes.
UFC ABU DHABI START TIME, DATE
MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC Abu Dhabi card below, starting with the ESPN2/ESPN+ “Prelims” matches, which begin at 12 p.m. ET, then the remaining main card (also on ABC/ESPN+) at 3 p.m. ET.
Keep in mind that we will also be the spot for the latest news, recaps, and post-fight analysis following “Sandhagen vs. Nurmagomedov.” Without further delay, see below for the updated UFC Abu Dhabi results. (Note: This will go from the top down; therefore, look to the top of the stream for the newest update).
UFC ABU DHABI QUICK RESULTS
135 lbs.: Cory Sandhagen vs. Umar Nurmagomedov 170 lbs.: Nick Diaz vs. Vicente Luque— Canceled (details here) 185 lbs.: Sharabutdin Magomedov vs. Michał Oleksiejczuk 135 lbs.: Marlon Vera vs. Deiveson Figueiredo 170 lbs.: Tony Ferguson vs. Michael Chiesa 115 lbs.: Mackenzie Dern vs. Loopy Godinez — Dern def. Godinez via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) 155 lbs.: Joel Alvarez vs. Elves Brener — Alvarez def. Brener via TKO (knees), round 3 (3:36) — HIGHLIGHTS! 205 lbs.: Alonzo Menifield vs. Azamat Murzakanov — Murzakanov def. Menifield via KO (punch), round 2 (3:18) — HIGHLIGHTS! 155 lbs.: Mohammad Yahya vs. Kaue Fernandes — Fernandes def. Yahya via TKO (punches), round 1 (4:45) — HIGHLIGHTS! 265 lbs.: Shamil Gaziev vs. Don’Tale Mayes — Gaziev def. Mayes via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) 155 lbs.: Guram Kutateladze vs. Jordan Vucenic — Kutateladze def. Vucenic via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) 115 lbs.: Victoria Dudakova vs. Sam Hughes — Hughes def. Dudakova via split decision (30-27, 28-29, 28-29) 155 lbs.: Jai Herbert vs. Rolando Bedoya — Herbert def. Bedoya via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28). 185 lbs.: Sedriques Dumas vs. Denis Tiuliulin — Dumas def. Tiuliulin via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
UFC ABU DHABI ‘SANDHAGEN VS. NURMAGOMEDOV’ PLAY-BY-PLAY
Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty ImagesAbu Dhabi’s Etihad Arena hosts tonight’s festivities.
To check out the latest and greatest UFC Abu Dhabi news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archives here, here and here. For the updated and finalized “Sandhagen vs. Nurmagomedov” fight card and ABC/ESPN+ lineup click here.
Tony Ferguson and Michael Chiesa face off ahead of UFC Abu Dhabi | Photo by Mike Roach/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
This is the UFC Abu Dhabi live blog for Tony Ferguson vs. Michael Chiesa, the main card welterweight fight on Saturday evening.
One of the more beloved fighters on the UFC roster, Ferguson has had a rough go over the past few years. Currently on a seven-fight losing streak, “El Cucuy” has not won since 2019, causing many fans to wonder when enough will be enough for the former interim lightweight champion. Not yet apparently, as Ferguson moves back up to welterweight for this contest and the hope that he can reignite some of his former magic at least one more time.
Like Ferguson, Chiesa is a past Ultimate Fighter winner on a losing streak. Chiesa has dropped three straight fights at welterweight, though it has been against top opposition. Already open about being near the end of his career, if Chiesa loses to Ferguson on Saturday, this could be the final time we see “Maverick” competing inside the octagon.
Check out the UFC Abu Dhabi main event live blog below.
Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
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