Cory Sandhagen vs. Umar Nurmagomedov: UFC Abu Dhabi: Cory Sandhagen vs. Umar Nurmagomedov: Full results

The UFC returned to Abu Dhabi on Aug. 3 headlined by undefeated Dagestani Umar Nurmagomedov and former interim title challenger Cory Sandhagen. Both fighters alluded to the matchup beforehand as a de facto No. 1 contender fight in the bantamweight division.

Though Sandhagen entered the fight as the higher-ranked fighter with significantly more UFC experience, Nurmagomedov closed as the sizeable betting favorite. At closing, 'The Young Eagle' was the second-largest betting favorite on the card behind only Michael Chiesa, who was tasked with fighting 40-year-old Tony Ferguson.

At the end of a five-round technical battle, Nurmagomedov came out victorious by unanimous decision. Though he won at least four rounds on all scorecards, the fight was much closer than the result suggests with Sandhagen displaying elite grappling defense but Nurmagomedov surprisingly besting the 32-year-old in striking exchanges.

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In the co-main event, Russian striker Shara Magomedov also won by unanimous decision against Michal Oleksiejczuk to please the local crowd. The entire event featured just four finishes but had nearly all of its matchups be compelling.

UFC Abu Dhabi results

View the full results for all 13 fights of UFC Abu Dhabi below:

Main card

Umar Nurmagomedov def. Cory Sandhagen by unanimous decision (50-45, 49-46, 49-46)

Sharabutdin Magomedov def. Michal Oleksiejczuk by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

Deiveson Figueiredo def. Marlon Vera by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)

Michael Chiesa def. Tony Ferguson by submission (rear-naked choke) at 3:44 of round one

Mackenzie Dern def. Loopy Godinez by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Joel Alvarez def. Elves Brener by TKO at 3:36 of round three

Preliminary card

Azamat Murzakanov def. Alonzo Menifield by KO at 3:18 of round two

Kaue Fernandes def. Mohammad Yahya by KO at 4:45 of round one

Shamil Gaziev def. Don'Tale Mayes by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Guram Kutateladze def. Jordan Vucenic by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Sam Hughes def. Viktoriia Dudakova by split decision (29-28, 29-28, 27-30)

Jai Herbert def. Rolando Bedoya by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

Sedriques Dumas def. Denis Tiuliulin by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)

About the author

Jaren covers MMA and boxing for Sportskeeda. He has a total experience of over a year and also writes for FanSided MMA and BetSided.

Jaren is a Bachelor of Arts in Sports Media with high distinction from Butler University in 2023 and chose a field that interests him the most to begin his professional journey. He has over four years of experience practicing boxing and kickboxing and is also a two-stripe Brazilian jiu-jitsu white belt.

His all-time top-five list of MMA fighters includes Demetrious Johnson, Georges St-Pierre, Jon Jones, Anderson Silva, and Amanda Nunes.

Jaren's first memory of becoming a fan of the sport dates back to the UFC 195 event in January 2016, which was headlined by the Robbie Lawler vs. Carlos Condit title fight. While compiling pieces, he focuses on quality and fact-checking by going through multiple credible sources, such as UFC, Sherdog, and ESPN.

His other interests include training in jiu-jitsu and kickboxing, and watching basketball and American football.

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