This past Saturday in the main event at UFC Abu Dhabi, we saw a title eliminator in the bantamweight division. Unbeaten top contender Umar Nurmagomedov (18-0) was taking on “The Sandman” Cory Sandhagen (17-5).
For Nurmagomedov, this was the biggest test of his UFC career thus far. Entering Saturday, he was a perfect 5-0 inside the octagon, however, he had never fought anyone on the level of Sandhagen. This was going to be a true test to see if he was ready for title contention.
In the first round, both men had their moments but it felt like Sandhagen got the better of things. That was the last time throughout the fight we could say that. For the next four rounds, Nurmagomedov really controlled things. Through his striking, pressure, volume, and grappling, he led the dance. Sandhagen never really got going and Nurmagomedov pulled away and won a big unanimous decision at UFC Abu Dhabi.
What’s next after UFC Abu Dhabi?
The new rankings came out this week and Nurmagomedov is ranked second in the division. He’s now only behind the champion Sean O’Malley and top contender Merab Dvalishvili. Those two will fight at Noche UFC in September for the bantamweight title and it’s clear who will be next.
Dana White has already said that Nurmagomedov will be next for the winner of September’s title fight. Given how he’s ran through all of his competition in his professional career, it doesn’t matter who is the champion. I fully expect Umar Nurmagomedov to be the betting favorite whenever he gets his highly anticipated UFC title shot.