Surging bantamweight contender, Umar Nurmagomedov has likely earned his shot at the divisional throne off the back of his return tonight against former championship challenger, Cory Sandhagen — landing a unanimous decision win in their UFC Abu Dhabi main event matchup.
Nurmagomedov, the cousin of former undisputed lightweight champion, Khabib Nurmagomedov — who cornered his relative tonight in the Middle East, turned in professional victory number eighteen tonight — improved his unbeaten record to boot.
Making his premiere outing over the course of five rounds, Nurmagomedov handed Sandhagen his first defeat amid a three-fight winning run tonight in the United Arab Emirates, mixing in some striking from range as well as a slew of takedown attempts.