On Saturday, the mixed martial arts leader returned for its latest event, UFC Fight Night: Cory Sandhagen vs. Umar Nurmagomedov.
After staging its return to Manchester, England, for the UFC 304 pay-per-view last weekend, MMA’s leading promotion remained on the road for a card inside the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.
Before returning to the venue for its annual numbered event this October (Topuria vs. Holloway! Topuria vs. Holloway! Topuria vs. Holloway!), the UFC put on a Fight Night event topped by elite bantamweight contenders Cory Sandhagen and Umar Nurmagomedov. The former interim title challenger and his undefeated Russian opponent were looking to stake their claims for a shot at the winner of Sean O’Malley vs. Merab Dvalishvili.
Saturday’s co-headliner, meanwhile, saw another fighter look to keep their 0 as Sharabutdin Magomedov attempted to make it three from three in the UFC at the expense of Michał Oleksiejczuk.
Before that, a second crucial contest at 135 pounds went down. Making the walk for the first time since his defeat to O’Malley in their UFC 299 title fight, Marlon Vera hoped to revive his championship ambitions by stalling the two-weight goals of ex-flyweight kingpin Deiveson Figueiredo.
Elsewhere on the lineup, the likes of former interim lightweight champion Tony Ferguson and strawweight submission specialist Mackenzie Dern were among those in action. But did those names come together to put on an entertaining few hours of MMA action?
Let’s find out with all the positives and negatives from UFC Fight Night: Sandhagen vs. Nurmagomedov.
Negative - Howard? Anybody Home?
UFC Fight Night Abu Dhabi started out with zero finishes and a judging horror show. Not exactly ideal, is it?
In one of the many decisions that kicked off the preliminary card on Saturday, Sam Hughes handed Victoria Dudakova the first defeat of her career, outpointing the Russian on two of the three judges’ scorecards after three rounds.
But the win for “Sampage” (surely top three for the worst nicknames in MMA? Sorry, Sam) wasn’t a certainty as Bruce Buffer read out the scorecards. That was courtesy of Howard Hughes, who showed that he has no business sitting cageside by scoring all three rounds for Dudakova.
Two? Justifiable. But to give the second frame to the 25-year-old is utterly ludicrous.
I largely don’t buy into judging criticism when plenty of ‘robbery’ cries derive from lost bets and fan favorites not getting the nod. But put Howie’s Saturday scorecard in the group of genuinely terrible verdicts in 2024.
Negative - Well, Keith, That Was Nonsense?
At what point do we accept that the “No Nonsense” Keith Peterson does, indeed, allow nonsense?!
A week on from a UFC 304 event that saw fence grabs galore and the most egregious instance of cheating in recent memory from Muhammad Mokaev — none of which were actually punished with point deductions, by the way — referee incompetence also arrived in the Middle East.
In fairness to Peterson, he was tasked with watching the heavyweightest of heavyweight fights in Don’Tale Mayes vs. Shamil Gaziev. I’m not sure there’s a human in the world who could have watched that slop and stayed focused on their task.
During one exchange that saw the one-time UFC headliner (a travesty) initiate grappling and push Mayes up against the cage, the American had a handful of Gaziev’s shorts and kept ahold despite the ref’s firm warning.
Peterson broke things up and took a point, right? RIGHT?! Of course not, he simply said he would, and then didn’t. Rules do not exist in MMA, folks. The worst part about this is, if Peterson was going to take zero action, why pause the fight and hamper Gaziev’s momentum in that position?
I don’t often agree with Daniel Cormier’s commentary, but his take was so spot on that it’s only right to let him close out this negative...
Positive - Murzakanov Atomics ‘Atomic'
Outside of a few names (Alex Pereira, Jiří Procházka, and co.), the light heavyweight division isn't exactly the most enthralling. But one man who is quickly joining the top figures on Mt. Entertainment excelled again in Abu Dhabi.
That man is Azamat Murzakanov, a hard-fisted Russian who has remained unbeaten in his career through four appearances inside the Octagon thus far. That run has seen only one bout go the distance, and of his three knockouts, the most brutal came at the Etihad Arena on Saturday.
The victim of his charge was Alonzo Menifield, who returned less than three months on from a 12-second KO at the hands of Carlos Ulberg. While not quite as quick, Murzakanov sent "Atomic" to a similar fate, putting him on wobbly legs with some hard punches before utterly flattening him with ground-and-pound for the stoppage.
While wins over the likes of Dustin Jacoby and Menifield make it hard to tout "The Professional" for title contention at 205 pounds at this point, he's certainly a major threat to those above him in the ladder. And if he keeps delivering finishes like the kind he did on Saturday, we're in for some fun.
Positive - 'El Fenómeno’ Strikes
I assume many may have been in the same boat when I say that Joel Álvarez is a name I’d largely forgotten about leading in to the latest UFC Fight Night event.
In all fairness, the Spaniard hadn’t competed in over a year since his submission of Marc Diakiese in London. "El Fenómeno” had previously had his undefeated UFC record blemished in vicious and bloody fashion by some Arman Tsarukyan elbows.
With one fight in three straight calendar years, Álvarez was in need of some momentum after having two canceled fights already in 2024. Well, consider momentum acquired, and consider his name firmly back in our minds.
For his comeback fight, the Spanish standout was tasked with adding to the woes of the highly regarded Elves Brener. The Brazilian broke through in 2023 with a 3-0 year that saw him finish seventh for MMA News’ Newcomer of the Year award, but his first outing of 2024 concluded with him falling to the fast-charging Myktybek Orolbai.
And Brener was unable to bounce back in Abu Dhabi, as Alvarez put on a mightily fine performance en route to a TKO in the third and final round. The finish was set up by some brutal knees, before ground-and-pound got the job done.
Back in the Octagon, back on a win streak, and back on the radar at 155 pounds.
Negative - How Many More?
Tony. Tony, Tony, Tony (to be said in a slow and worried tone, not some sort of English football chant).
Tony Ferguson’s latest outing inside the Octagon was close to worst-case scenario, as he fell to yet another defeat in just minutes — although, in all honesty, it’s a relief at this point to see him exit a fight without major damage.
Like most, a loss is always the expected outcome when I see “El Cucuy” enter the cage these days. But even with that outlook on his floundering career, the rapid nature of his submission loss to Michael Chiesa was a surprise.
A retirement has been overdue for a while now, but after losses to Pimblett and “Maverick” to leave him with the unwanted record of suffering the most straight defeats in UFC history, there can be zero doubt about what the future should hold for Ferguson.
Unfortunately, while the gloves came off and it appeared as though Chiesa had passed over his microphone time for the end, Ferguson only half-retired. And in all honesty, with his frequent remarks about making another run as recently as last year, that’s as good as calling for another five-fight contract in the case of “El Cucuy.”
Given how long this term has been appropriate, it’s no longer right to say ‘it’s time’ for him to call it quits. It’s time for the UFC to do so for him.
Positive - Figgy
Deiveson Figueiredo is absolutely a problem in the bantamweight division.
Although a move up appeared clearly due following the end of his second stint on the flyweight throne, I’m not sure many predicted this kind of start to life at 135 pounds for “Deus Da Guerra.”
His debut against Rob Font was slick and impressive. His finish of Cody Garbrandt at UFC 300 added a former champion to his record in the division. His domination of Marlon Vera has no doubt earned him a top-five ranking.
More than just outpointing “Chito” in Abu Dhabi, Figueiredo became the first to knock the Ecuadorian down — a feat that even Sean O’Malley and his knee failed to achieve at UFC 299 this past March.
In terms of pure skill and fighting ability, I’m not sure the Brazilian’s superiority over Vera was ever in doubt. But to see him handle a tricky customer like “Chito” in that fashion was eyebrow-raising, and it also sees another big name added to the title equation at 135 pounds.
What. A. Division.
Positive - Bantamweight Main Events
We’ve had more heavyweight UFC main events in 2024 than bantamweight. Has there ever been a bigger farce in mixed martial arts?
For all the Shamil Gaziev vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruiks we have to sit through, there’s one reason we keep watching. Because a Cory Sandhagen vs. Umar Nurmagomedov could come along eventually.
Talent! Actual fighting talent, with technique, and strategy, and tactics. As expected, “The Sandman” and his undefeated Russian opponent battled in a highly entertaining chess match to close out Saturday’s UFC Fight Night in Abu Dhabi.
The man having his hand raised at the end of it was Nurmagomedov, who rose to the occasion in what marked by far the toughest test of his blossoming career to date. And while his title ambitions have taken a slight hit, it’s hard to say Sandhagen’s stock dipped.
A round of applause for a bantamweight main event, folks — only the second of the year and the first not to include the title. Would it take a rocket scientist to explain that there are 50 different 135-pound matchups that would be better headliners than the Marcin Tybura vs. Serghei Spivac atrocity we're in for next weekend?