Umar Nurmagomedov beats Cory Sandhagen to emerge as UFC title threat 

From the time he started ascending the ranks on the regional circuit, Umar Nurmagomedov has been projected to be a championship threat in the UFC. Saturday in Abu Dhabi, the talented bantamweight established himself as the next title threat in the 135-pound weight class with a unanimous decision win over Cory Sandhagen.

Nurmagomedov dictated the terms of engagement for the vast majority of the fight, attacking with his customary blend of swift, varied striking and dynamic wrestling, scrambling through to dominant positions and twisting Sandhagen into a pretzel at various different points throughout the contest. While the tenured American contender was sharp with his defences and always able to extricate himself from trouble, he failed to mount the kind of sustained attack that would give Nurmagomedov a moment of pause.

As the rounds progressed, Nurmagomedov continued to extend his lead, and though Sandhagen’s corner called for greater urgency and the artillery reserves to be emptied, their charge was simply unable to comply, as his Russian foe continued to press, attack, and have success.

Now 18-0 overall with his last six victories coming inside the Octagon, Nurmagomedov is clearly next in line to challenge for the title.

A championship bout between titleholder Sean O’Malley and challenger Merab Dvalishvili is slated to headline UFC 306 in September, with the unbeaten standout saying after his victory that he does not care which of the two men emerges with the belt, promising to beat either one.

Ascending middleweight Shara Magomedov picked up his third straight victory in a short-notice pairing with Michal Oleksiejczuk that served as Saturday’s co-main event.

The 29-year-old Muay Thai stylist was never really in danger, using his varied striking attack to get the better of the forward-pressuring Polish fighter across all three rounds, including splitting Oleksiejczuk open with an intercepting elbow in the first. This was the best all-around effort from “Shara Bullet” since he reached the UFC, and elevated his record to 13-0 overall.

He called for a matchup with Nick Diaz when the promotion returns to Abu Dhabi in October for UFC 308, but that doesn’t feel like the kind of fight the veteran is likely to have much interest in or one that makes much send for the UFC. Having now proven himself against fighters in the lower half of the division, a date with someone in the upper tier of talent in the 185-pound ranks is far more intriguing, with grapplers like Rodolfo Vieira and Jacob Malkoun representing interesting potential tests.

While his request to challenge for the bantamweight title next is unlikely to be granted, Deiveson Figueiredo put himself in the championship conversation by securing a unanimous decision win over Marlon “Chito” Vera.

After earning wins over Rob Font and former champ Cody Garbrandt in his first two bouts since relocating from flyweight, Figueiredo stamped his win over Vera by dropping the recent title challenger in the third, showing that the power that made him a menace at flyweight has accompanied him up to the 135-pound ranks.

With Nurmagomedov claiming pole position for the next championship opportunity, Figueiredo may have to “settle” for a showdown with another top-five talent later this year. A clash with former champ Petr Yan is fascinating on paper, and would work as both a Fight Night main event or tremendous addition to any pay-per-view main card in the final two months of the year.

The matchup between former Ultimate Fighter winners Michael Chiesa and Tony Ferguson didn’t last long, as “Maverick” locked up a rear-naked choke finish just beyond the midway point of the opening round.

Chiesa cautiously worked his way inside and as soon as he was able to get his arms around Ferguson, he attacked. After elevating the former interim lightweight champion in the air and dumping him to the canvas, the TUF Live winner attacked the choke in transition before securing the back and cinching up the finish.

Following the contest, Chiesa deferred his interview time to Ferguson, who had removed his gloves. While he said he “didn’t want to retire,” Saturday’s defeat marked his eighth straight loss, and at 40 years old, there is a strong likelihood that this was the last time Ferguson will compete inside the Octagon.

One of the best fighters to never realize an undisputed title in the UFC, Ferguson won a dozen consecutive fights at one point, including an interim title win over Kevin Lee.

A matchup with Khabib Nurmagomedov seemed to carry a curse, as the two elite talents never managed to share the cage, with Ferguson’s slide beginning just a few months after their final proposed contest was scuttled as the COVID-19 pandemic began to sweep the globe. If this is indeed the end, Ferguson should be remembered for the tremendous all-action fights and lengthy winning streak he amassed, and not how things played out down the stretch.

Mackenzie Dern and Mexican-Canadian Loopy Godinez engaged in an entertaining back-and-forth in the strawweight division, with Dern landing on the happy side of the results.

The Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace was at her best in the first, landing heavy shots on the feet before getting the fight to the canvas and attacking a deep armbar that forced Godinez to be hyper-focused on defending to close out the round. After Godinez worked back into the fight in the second, the third was ultra-competitive, with Dern getting the nod on all three scorecards.

Joel Alvarez isn’t a name that gets mentioned when talking about contenders in the lightweight division, but perhaps it should be, as the Spaniard took another step towards a return to the rankings with a third-round stoppage win over Elves Brener in Saturday’s main card opener.

The 31-year-old stung Brener on multiple occasions in the first and threatened with a D’Arce choke at the close of the round before taking a more patient approach in the second. Alvarez remained measured through the early part of the third, but as soon as he clipped Brener and clearly had him teetering, “El Fenomeno” dialled up the offense and chased down the finish.

Alvarez has gone 6-1 in his last seven UFC appearances, with his only loss coming against No. 1 contender Arman Tsarukyan more than two years ago. He has finished all 21 wins in his career, has tremendous size of the division, and should find himself in the cage with a ranked opponent again in the not too distant future.

The early slate wrapped with a pair of impressive finishes, with Azamat Murzakanov and Kaue Fernandes picking up second- and first-round stoppages respectively.

Murzakanov returned from over a year on the sidelines and just kept things rolling, registering his fourth consecutive UFC victory and 14th straight win overall by putting away Alonzo Menifield. The 35-year-old light heavyweight dominated the exchanges in the first, and as the two men began to tire and open up in the second, “The Professional” put together a series of heavy blows that put the Fortis MMA man on the canvas, where the fight-ending blows quickly followed.

One fight earlier, Fernandes turned in the best performance on the prelims, battering the legs of Mohammad Yahya before dropping the local favourite with a sharp one-two in the waning moments of the opening round.