Cory Sandhagen did virtually everything correctly. The UFC's No. 2 bantamweight knew he'd have his hands full Saturday with unbeaten Umar Nurmagomedov in the main event of UFC on ABC 7 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Nurmagomedov entered the fight ranked 10th at bantamweight with a 17-0 mark, though with some critics dogging him for a lack of elite opposition.
Sandhagen displayed crisp striking, tremendous takedown defense and a varied attack. He did everything the way coach Trevor Wittman laid it out.
And still, Sandhagen came out on the wrong side of a unanimous decision. Judge Mike Bell scored it 50-45 for Nurmagomedov, while Ben Cartlidge and David Lethaby each had it 49-46 for Nurmagomedov. That will earn him a title shot, UFC President/CEO Dana White told KevinIole.com.
Sandhagen had lost agonizingly close fights to T.J. Dillashaw and Petr Yan in 2021, and had reason to be proud of his effort. It was a phenomenal fight that highlighted the best of MMA. He was hoping to parlay a victory Saturday into a title shot against the winner of the Sept. 14 bout in Las Vegas at UFC Noche between Sean O'Malley and Merab Dvalishvili.
Instead, it was more heartache.
"He's real good and I knew he was going to be real good," a glum Sandhagen said afterward. "He beat me tonight. There's nothing more I can say about it. Congrats to him. He's a very, very, very good fighter. I'll see him again. He's going to fight for the belt next, probably win, and then I'll catch up to him and try him again."
Nurmagomedov was 5-for-13 in takedown attempts and successfully defended both of Sandhagen's attempts. He would have been able to finish most opponents, and nearly had the rare Twister submission near the end of the first round, but Sandhagen defended it magnificently.
It was, though, Nurmagomedov's striking that was the difference. His grappling is so high-level that opponents have to spend all of their time preparing for it, and it opens opportunities in the stand-up for his striking.
Nurmagomedov connected on 98 of his 187 significant strikes, landing at 52 percent. Sandhagen was 71 of 159, hitting at a 44 percent clip.
Most of the rounds were close, but Nurmagomedov was scoring the takedowns, working for submissions and landing at a slightly higher clip. The rounds, as a result, went his way.
He called for a title shot, and though he entered the bout ranked 10th, he made a loud statement on Saturday that he's deserving. Champion Sean O'Malley will defend against No. 1 Merab Dvalishvili on Sept. 14 in the main event of Noche UFC at The Sphere in Las Vegas.
White did not attend the show, but he told KevinIole.com via text that Nurmagomedov would get the winner.
"I have to believe in myself," Nurmagomedov said. "I had the takedowns, but I needed to beat him in the striking, too, and I did it."