UFC Fight Night Moscow: Russian fighter Shamil Gamzatov edges Klidson Abreu in cagey encounter

The curtain raiser of the main card at UFC Fight Night Moscow saw hometown boy Shamil Gamzatov go up against Klidson Abreu in a light heavyweight clash. Making his UFC debut in front of his home crowd, the undefeated Russian fighter Gamzatov edged the Brazilian Abreu in a tightly contested encounter via split decision.

Abreu headed into this fight on the back of a win over Sam Alvey earlier this year.

Here's how it went down

As the first round kicked off, the fighters traded hard kicks to the body. Abreu attempted a flying knee but missed and got caught by a glancing right hand by Gamzatov. Abreu threw a vicious head kick and narrowly missed. Gamzatov landed some leg kicks towards the end of the round, but Abreu launched a flurry of shots on him against the fence, bringing the first round to a close.

The Russian started the second round confidently, hitting Abreu with a beautiful combination and followed it up with a leg kick. Abreu smacked Gazmatov with a hard cross as he was looking to move forward. With a minute left in the round, Abreu landed a takedown, but Gamzatov was able to get up as the round ended.

In the final round, Abreu threw a body kick which was caught by Gamzatov who hit the Brazilian with a left hook to the body. Gamzatov had difficulties trying to connect seamlessly in the third round but he kept on piling the pressure on Abreu as he slowly found his flow, landing shots on the Brazilian fighter.

Gamzatov attempted a spinning back kick and missed, allowing Abreu to try and take the fight to the ground. However, Gamzatov reversed the position and pressed Abreu against the fence only to get separated. The fight, which often struggled to truly get going, finally came to an end with Abreu looking for another takedown.