Preview: UFC on ABC 7 ‘Sandhagen vs. Nurmagomedov’

The Octagon on Saturday will land in the Middle East for the second time in two months with a mid-afternoon card on network television. Like the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s visit to Saudi Arabia in June, UFC on ABC 7 comes with a stacked main draw featuring a mix of high stakes, star power and potential action at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The excellent headliner sees Cory Sandhagen return from injury to reaffirm his status as a top bantamweight contender against rising talent Umar Nurmagomedov in the most significant bout of the Russian’s career. In the co-main event, highly touted middleweight prospect Sharabutdin Magomedov—last seen at that Saudi Arabia show in June—gets a significant test against Michal Oleksiejczuk. Meanwhile, two other fights—a bantamweight tilt matching Marlon Vera with Deiveson Figueiredo and a women’s strawweight affair pairing Mackenzie Dern and Lupita Godinez—are each quite important in their respective divisions. Add in the name value of Tony Ferguson and Michael Chiesa, plus a violent confrontation between Joel Alvarez and Elves Brener to open festivities, and this lineup has a bit of everything.

Now to the UFC on ABC 7 “Sandhagen vs. Nurmagomedov” preview:

Bantamweights

#10 BW | Umar Nurmagomedov (17-0, 5-0 UFC) vs. #2 BW | Cory Sandhagen (17-4, 10-3 UFC)

ODDS: Nurmagomedov (-305), Sandhagen (+245)

Sandhagen might finally get his long-awaited title shot with a win here. He made his UFC debut in 2018 as a complete afterthought, added to the card during fight week to help fill things out after some late cancellations. It quickly became apparent that Sandhagen would be a fighter to watch, and within two years, he was within striking distance of a bantamweight title shot. John Lineker and Raphael Assuncao each figured to be tough tests for a greenhorn like the 2019 version of Sandhagen, but “Sandman” managed to skate by with two decision wins, using his long frame to frustrate each of his veteran opponents from a distance. A 2020 pairing against Aljamain Sterling figured to determine the next title contender at 135 pounds. That wound up being Sterling. It took just a minute and a half for Sterling to get Sandhagen to the mat and find a rear-naked choke. Wrestling defense has been the closest thing to a liability for Sandhagen, who rebounded from the Sterling loss with two impressive knockouts before dropping a controversial decision to T.J. Dillashaw. While Dillashaw was able to grind things out at times, he didn’t do much with the control. That was surprisingly enough for the former bantamweight champion to earn two out of three scorecards. Somehow, injuries and the unavailability of other contenders meant that Sandhagen still wound up in an interim title fight against Petr Yan despite coming off a loss. That wound up as the most complete performance anyone has put together against Sandhagen. It was a sharp performance from both men but might serve as the best example of what Yan can do at his absolute peak. For Sandhagen’s part, he has done well to continue rounding out his game to the point that he might be the most well-rounded fighter in the division, particularly after developing his offensive wrestling. That came in handy against Marlon Vera and Rob Font last year, particularly after Sandhagen tore his triceps early against Font and was forced to grind out a win. That injury has kept Sandhagen out of action for nearly a year on the dot, and a win against Nurmagomedov might be the only thing standing between him and potential championship glory.

Nurmagomedov comes with the weight of high expectations that he has lived up to every step of the way, even if this is clearly his toughest fight yet. The cousin of former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, his first handful of UFC bouts were about what you’d expect, with the Russian quickly finding takedowns and subsequent submissions. However, a win over Raoni Barcelos to kick off 2023 gave him a long-overdue chance to show his wares off on the feet, resulting in a first-round knockout. Nurmagomedov hasn’t really been able to build on that momentum since. He was actually slated to face Sandhagen last year before an injury gave that spot to Font, and he wound up in a surprisingly tough and wrestling-heavy win against Bekzat Almakhan in March. He’s still an obviously elite talent who should at least prove his ability to hang at a high level. If nothing else, Nurmagomedov’s lightning-fast ability to shoot for a takedown should give Sandhagen some issues. All in all, this does look like Sandhagen’s fight to lose, since he might be the toughest fight in the division on paper. His wrestling is now less of a liability if not entirely a strength defensively, and his ability to successfully attack from range does figure to give Nurmagomedov a lot of difficulty in setting things up for the better part of five rounds. It’s just nice to see Sandhagen back and Nurmagomedov get a high-level opponent. The pick is Sandhagen via decision.

Jump To »
Sandhagen vs. Nurmagomedov
Magomedov vs. Oleksiejczuk
Figueiredo vs. Vera
Chiesa vs. Ferguson
Dern vs. Godinez
Alvarez vs. Brener
The Prelims