UFC fighter Umar Nurmagomedov expanded his undefeated record of 18-0 after a unanimous decision win over Cory Sandhagen at UFC Abu Dhabi.
The bantamweight bout was the main event at UFC Abu Dhabi. The win is Russian’s biggest in his career so far, and he plans on winning UFC gold and acquiring the bantamweight title.
Nurmagomedov—Khabib’s cousin—entered the octagon with big plans to take down his opponents. In the opening round, the two fighters danced around each other, feeling each other but maintaining a cautious distance.
The Russian wasted no time the following round. He attempted a takedown and tried to grab Sandhagen’s neck, but ” The Sandman” recovered on time and gave no leeway. Despite five takedowns, Normagonedov couldn’t get Sandhagen in the position he wanted. The two continued grappling through the rounds, but Nurmagomedov outclassed him on the canvas.
Sandhagen tried to get the better of the Russian in the fourth round, but his opponent landed a hard left. The two fighters displayed impressive striking skills exchanging blows with Nurmagomedov landing a one-two combo. The Russian seemed to be the aggressor and kept raining down punches on Sandhagen until the fight ended with Nurmagomedov victorious via unanimous decision.
“He was more hard than I expected,” Nurmagomedov said. “He was really tough. I think I deserved the win today. I feel like I beat him in every single round. I tried to take him down, but he had good defence.
“I had to believe in my striking; in the second round, I began to feel that I could beat him in striking too. I did that.
“It doesn’t matter who’s going to be next. Just give me the title shot. O’Malley, Merab [Dvalishvili], someone else. It doesn’t matter. I’m here. Now guys, talk about how I beat nobody. Cory was No. 2. Now, you can cry. I’m coming for you.”
His opponent, Sandhagen, also made a statement at the post-fight conference.
“He’s real good; I knew he was going to be real good,” he said. “He beat me tonight. There’s nothing more I can do about it. Congrats to him. He’s a very, very good fighter. I’ll see him again. He’s going to fight for the belt next. He’ll probably win, and then I’ll catch up to him and fight him again.”
The night also ended with $50,000 Fight of the Night bonuses for Shara Magomedov and Michal Oleksiejczuk.
Main Card
Umar Nurmagomedov defeats Cory Sandhagen via unanimous decision.
Shara Magomedov defeats Michal Oleksiejczuk via unanimous decision.
Deiveson Figueiredo defeats Marlon Vera via unanimous decision.
Michael Chiesa defeats Tony Ferguson via submission.
MacKenzie Dern defeats Loopy Godinez via unanimous decision.
Joel Alvarez defeats Elves Brener via third-round KO.
Preliminary Card
Azamat Murzakanov defeats Alonzo Menifield via second-round KO.
Kaue Fernandes defeats Mohammad Yahaya via first-round TKO.
Shamil Gaziev defeats Don Tales Mayes via unanimous decision.
Sam Hughes defeats Viktoriia Dudakov via split decision.
Jai Herbert defeats Rolando Bedoya via unanimous decision.
Sedriques Dumas defeats Denis Tiuliulin via unanimous decision.
