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UFC Fight Night: Sandhagen v Nurmagomedov — Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Last night (Sat., Aug. 3, 2024), Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) ventured forth to the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates for UFC Abu Dhabi. A rare non-PPV card inside Etihad, the show was still stacked with more talent and bigger names than the usual free event. The afternoon showtime was a nice change of pace as well — why couldn’t we do that last week for the English fans and fighters again? — which all in all made for a standout event. It was almost enough to overlook the latest ritual sacrifice of Tony Ferguson!

Let’s take a look back over at UFC Abu Dhabi’s best performances and techniques:

The Next Title Challenger

There’s no way around it: Umar Nurmagomedov is really damn good.

Cory Sandhagen came fully prepared to upset the Russian and steal away his undefeated record. In the first round, he effectively denied all of Nurmagomedov’s takedowns and began chewing up the lead leg. It was as strong a start as Team Sandhagen could have hoped for, yet it wasn’t destined to last.

Nurmagomedov slowly closed the gap in the stand up. His own kicking game was effective in slowing Sandhagen’s feet, and though his takedowns weren’t resulting in much control, they still limited Sandhagen’s volume and overall work rate. Subsequently, Nurmagomedov’s own hands started getting closer and closer to the target, and by the third, he was straight up out-landing Sandhagen upstairs.

Sandhagen found himself in quite the dilemma. He was falling behind on the scorecards, yet he wasn’t winning the range battle. He tried to up the pressure, but that’s never really been his game. Without the feints and footwork trickery he’s known for, Sandhagen’s increased pressure really only saw Nurmagomedov land more often.

Don’t get me wrong: every round was competitive from start to finish. At the same time, Nurmagomedov remained a step ahead throughout. Though his wrestling skills certainly didn’t hurt, it’s wild to consider a grappler as dominant as Nurmagomedov is also skilled enough on the feet to out-fox a veteran kickboxer like Cory Sandhagen.

Sean O’Malley or Merab Dvalishvili have their work cut out.

UFC Fight Night: Magomedov v Oleksiejczuk

A High-Volume Middleweight

Shara Magomedov’s best aspect might just be conditioning.

Seriously, the guy fights at an outrageous pace. Just last weekend, we saw Giga Chikadze wilt from trying to employ the same game plan against Arnold Allen, but Chikadze fights 40 pounds lower! Michal Oleksiejczuk is a gamer and pushed a hard pace. He (mostly) did what he was supposed to do to test the prospect, and Magomedov was largely able to answer those questions in good form.

It all comes back to conditioning though. How is such a big man able to kick so quickly while running circles around the cage without badly fatiguing? In fact, it was Oleksiejczuk who ended the fight more worn out, because he walked through so many hard body and low kicks while trying to press the Russian.

Even when Magomedov did start to slow, it was mild, and Oleksiejczuk was too battered to truly take advantage. I’m not sold on Shara “Bullet” as a future champion, but he clearly has some unique attributes in his favor.

A Pointless Fight

Michael Chiesa choked out Tony Ferguson in short fashion, just like everybody expected. Ferguson refused to commit to retirement, just like everyone expected. Now that the fight is done, it’s time for something a little less predictable: will UFC actually give Ferguson a ninth opportunity after eight straight defeats?

I hope not.

The Best Joel Alvarez Yet

I expected Joel Alvarez vs. Elves Brener to be a banger — everyone did! I also expected it to be a very competitive fight, which seemed to be the general consensus as well but ultimately proved to be very wrong!

Alvarez beat the crap out of Brener. From the first bell, he was able to establish his range and stick Brenner with powerful, long punches. The Brazilian is known for his grit, his ability to take damage and fire back, but the strikes of Alvarez were getting to him. Alvarez was able to hurt his opponent badly enough that Brener pretty much accepted Alvarez’s range rather than risk walking through shots.

That strategic decision delayed the finish to the third round but didn’t prevent it. Alvarez’s shot selection was so nice: chopping low kicks, hard straights, and onslaughts of clinch knees and elbows. He broke Brener down, threatened him with several tight submissions, and ultimately finished with a few dozen connections in a row.

The late finish was also impressive because Alvarez cuts a lot of weight. He kept his pace the entire fight and still had the energy to surge towards the stoppage late, hopefully earning himself another opportunity against a ranked foe.

Light Heavyweight’s Best Boxer? (Aside From Pereira)

Azamat Murzakanov stands out from the Light Heavyweight pack.

The Russian improved to 4-0 last night by knocking out Alonzo Menifield, a dangerous if flawed veteran of the division. Murzakanov pretty much took him apart from the first bell, and he did so via good ol’ boxing. There are a lot of strikers in the Light Heavyweight Top 15, but how many of them actually build combinations? How many of them feint their way into exchanges, land, and then exit at an angle? Hardly any. It’s a division full of rangy kickers, wild men, and occasional grapplers.

At 35 years of age, Murzakanov’s window to do something major at 205-pounds is small, and his habit of slowing down over the course of fights isn’t great. Still, he’s an interesting player in the division, and he might just be able to crack a few heads in the Top 10 before all is said and done.

Finally!

The evening started with five straight decisions, and only one of those fights (below) was particularly interesting. Fortunately, Kaue Fernandes broke the streak, utterly battering Mohammad Yahya en route to a first-round finish.

As it so often does, the destruction began with the calf kick. Fernandes attacked the lead leg early, capitalizing upon his opponent’s upright stance. Before long, Yahya was compromised and started looking uncomfortable in exchanges because he was having difficulty planting his weight.

“The UAE Warrior” was in a bad way, and he made the decision to charge. Unfortunately for him, Fernandes stood his ground with a cracking 3-2 combination. Both punches landed hard, flooring Yahya and forcing the finish.

Not a bad first UFC win for the Brazilian!

Additional Thoughts

Guram Kutateladze defeats Jordan Vucenic via unanimous decision: This was a quality scrap between talented unranked Lightweights! Short-notice debutant Vucenic started strong, using feints and good movement to line up a hard right hand that floored Kutateladze. The Georgian was able to rally back, however, using body work and takedowns to slow the fight and force himself back into the driver’s seat. Vucenic is a welcome addition to the division, and Kutateladze seems to continually finds himself in close, hard-fought battles regardless of opponent.

For complete UFC Abu Dhabi: “Sandhagen vs. Nurmagomedov” results and play-by-play, click HERE!