UFC Fight Night: Sandhagen vs Nurmagomedov Main Event & Undercard Tips
Umar Nurmagomedov faces a big test this weekend when he takes on Cory Sandhagen in Abu Dhabi.
The number-10 ranked UFC Bantamweight will tackle the American, who is ranked number 2.
With Champion Sean O’Malley now slated to fight Merab Dvalishvili in the Sphere in September, the winner of this fight will certainly be knocking on the door for the next title shot.
Here are our three best bets from the main card.
TIP 1 - Total Rounds - Over 3.5 rounds
The much-hyped Umar Nurmagomedov is 17-0 as a pro and is on a five-fight winning streak in the UFC.
The 28-year-old is the cousin of Khabib Nurmagomedov and employs the same Sambo wrestling style.
Umar has solid stand-up but has only two KO/TKO wins in his career, with one coming in the UFC when landing a perfect left hook on Raoni Barcelos early last year.
Two of the Dagestan fighter’s UFC wins have been by submission, and with his average of just over 4.5 takedowns per round we can see where his strength lies.
The depth of Nurmagomedov’s resume is the main question. He is ranked at number 10 in the division but doesn’t have a win over anybody in the current top 15.
The same can’t be said about Cory Sandhagen, who is 10-3 in the UFC with wins over Marlon Vera, Rob Font, Song Yadong, Frankie Edgar and Marlon Moraes.
The 32-year-old has lost only to former champions Aljamain Sterling (submission), Petr Yan and T.J Dillashaw (both decisions).
This five-round main event will be Sandhagen’s fifth at Championship distance, where he is 3-2, whereas this will be Nurmagomedov's first attempt.
There is no doubt that Nurmagomedov has the potential to produce a masterclass here but the experience of Sandhagen along with his gas tank, speed and scrambles should keep this interesting.
Tip 2 - Shara Magomedov to win by decision
Shara Magomedov makes a relatively quick turnaround here on short notice in the co-main event slot originally slated for Nick Diaz’s return against Vincte Luque.
Travel restrictions saw that fight postponed and in stepped “Shara Bullet” who last fought in June, defeating a last-minute replacement in UFC debutant Antonio Tricolli in the third round.
That win made the 30-year-old 2-0 in the UFC and 13-0 as a professional overall.
The Dagestan native offers a different skill set than many of his countrymen in the UFC, favouring an all-action striking style over Sambo wrestling.
Magomedov fights with only one eye following an injury suffered in 2016.
His opponent Michał Oleksiejczuk is 7-6-1 in the UFC and was last seen losing to Kevin Holland by first-round submission, also in June.
The 29-year-old Polish fighter is 1-3 in his last four fights, with all three defeats coming by submission.
Oleksiejczuk has been knocked out only once in his 28 pro fights, and that was 10 years ago.
Both have high-volume striking styles but Magomedov is big for the division and with a 74% striking accuracy and an array of punches, kicks and elbows in his arsenal we should see him secure another victory.
Tip 3 - Marlon Vera to win
Marlon “Chito” Vera goes into this fight with Deiveson Figueiredo after an unsuccessful title challenge in a rematch with Sean O’Malley at UFC 299 in March.
The 31-year-old lost by unanimous decision and was ultimately outclassed by O’Malley in Miami.
However, Chito has been a seasoned top-ten ranked competitor in the Bantamweight division for some time (15-8 UFC) with wins over O’Malley, Frankie Edgar, Rob Font, Dominick Cruz and Pedro Munhoz.
From his 15 UFC wins, Vera has seven KO/TKOs and four submission victories and is able to wear down his opponents with his strong gas tank.
The Ecuadorian can sometimes be a slow starter but has crucially never been stopped in his whole career.
Deiveson Figueiredo is a two-time Flyweight champion (12-3-1 UFC) who moved to Bantamweight following the conclusion of his quadrilogy with Brandon Moreno.
At 135lbs, the Brazilian is 2-0, recording a unanimous decision win over Rob Font, before submitting Cody Garbrandt at UFC 300 in April.
The 36-year-old’s title aspirations will be fully tested here against his number-four ranked opponent, and in Chito, he will find a much more physically strong foe than his previous two in this weight class.
The main question surrounding Vera is how he will respond to his loss against O’Malley, but he has only once not bounced back from a defeat with a win and that was in 2018.
Vera has a strong takedown defence as well as more than double the significant strikes Figueiredo landed in the UFC and could well edge this one as the betting underdog.