Challenging Match for Nurmagomedov

Umar Nurmagomedov got his hand raised on Saturday, achieving his primary goal, but he’s not thrilled with how he got there. The undefeated bantamweight contender expressed disappointment over not being dominant in the grappling department against Cory Sandhagen, whom he defeated by unanimous decision in the main event of UFC on ABC 7 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. Although Nurmagomedov (18-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) had his moments on the ground, Sandhagen (17-5 MMA, 10-4 UFC) proved to be a tough challenge, defending many of his takedown attempts and ground attacks.

“I’m not happy,” Nurmagomedov told reporters at the post-fight interview. “It was a good performance on the striking, but if we’re talking about grappling and how I control him, it was not good. I thought I would maul him on the ground, but he’s tough, he’s good. Cody is too good and has hard kicks, and he’s a tough man. I think he has more experience than me in the UFC cage, but I win, and I’m happy today I win.”

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Next Step: Title Shot

After defeating Sandhagen, Nurmagomedov got on the microphone and called for the next title shot against the winner of Sean O’Malley vs. Merab Dvalishvili on September 14 at Noche UFC. Nurmagomedov plans to be present at Sphere in Las Vegas for the fight and doesn’t care who wins.

“Yes, I’m planning to go to the fight, but I don’t want to name one guy or the other because I don’t want the other guy to think that I’m trying to avoid fighting him,” Nurmagomedov explained. “So yes, of course, I’d be happy to fight both of them, but the goal is to fight the winner.”

Event Highlights

The event also featured several other exciting matchups. Sharabutdin Magomedov defeated Michal Oleksiejczuk in the co-main event and won Fight of the Night. Joel Alvarez and Azamat Murzakanov were awarded performance bonuses for their respective stoppage wins. Mackenzie Dern and Michael Chiesa were also prominent in their matches, with Dern winning over Lupita Godinez and Chiesa forcing Tony Ferguson to submit.

For more detailed results and analysis, visit MMAnytt.se