Umar Nurmagomedov improves to 18-0, shuts Cory Sandhagen down in UFC on ABC 7 main event
Umar Nurmagomedov victorious in UFC Abu Dhabi main event
The Ultimate Fighting Championship returned to us today, August 3, 2024, for UFC on ABC 7, going down live from the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
Headlining the event was a bantamweight bout between no. 2 ranked Cory Sandhagen (17-5) and no. 10 ranked Umar Nurmagomedov (18-0).
Sandhagen came into this evening’s main event off three-straight victories over the likes of no. 7 ranked Song Yadong (TKO), no. 4 ranked former title challenger Marlon Vera (SD), and no. 9 ranked Rob Font (UD).
Nurmagomedov on the other hand had gone a perfect 5-0 inside the octagon following his claim of the GF bantamweight title with victories over former M-1 Challenge bantamweight champion Sergey Morozov (rear naked choke), former ROC bantamweight champion Brian Kelleher (rear naked choke), former TKO bantamweight champion Nate Maness (UD), former RFA bantamweight champion Raoni Barcelos (KO), and Bekzat Almakhan (UD).
Continue reading to see how our UFC on ABC 7 main event of the evening went down:
Official Result: Umar Nurmagomedov def. Cory Sandhagen via unanimous decision (50-45, 49-46, 49-46)
Sandhagen started pressuring Nurmagomedov once the bout began, controlling the center before Nurmagomedov secured a single leg and took his back off it. Sandhagen did a great job immediately picking his hook however and got out of danger quickly.
Sandhagen appeared to be controlling the striking exchanges as the round went on, stuffing a few of the Russian’s takedowns before Nurmagomedov secured a double leg at the end of the round.
Nurmagomedov nearly took Sandhagen’s back again early on in the second though Sandhagen defended it and quickly back to range. Each contender landed good kicks at range, Nurmagomedov eventually securing another takedown that momentarily saw him take Sandhagen’s back. Sandhagen however scrambled his way out of trouble once again.
Nurmagomedov’s striking looked good in round three, out-striking Sandhagen throughout and ending the round in dominant position, again getting ahold of him and rolling to take his back as the third came to a close.
Nurmagomedov started to really let his hands go in the fourth, landing a number of jabs, sharp left hooks, and overhand rights. Sandhagen was right there returning with good shots of his own here and there. Though a very competitive fight, one would think Nurmagomedov is certainly up at this stage of it.
Round five was Nurmagomedov’s most dominant of the fight as it was the first time, he was able to keep Sandhagen on his back once he got him down, remaining in top position for the final two or so minutes of the fight.
Sandhagen did a great job defending Nurmagomedov’s attack in each round, but Nurmagomedov nullified pretty much all of Sandhagen’s offense throughout the fight and just didn’t let him get any momentum going.
Umar Nurmagomedov remains undefeated with his dominant victory today at UFC on ABC 7, defeating the no. 2 ranked contender while he was ranked at no. 10 himself.
At just 28 years of age, many of us believe Nurmagomedov will go on a long reign as UFC bantamweight champion, and it’s likely he’ll face the winner of Sean O’Malley versus no. 1 ranked Merab Dvalishvili for the UFC bantamweight championship later in the year or in early 2025.
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