The Real Winners and Losers From UFC on ABC 7

Dana White isn't shy about head-to-head competition.

Which makes it no surprise he and the UFC went international for a 13-bout Saturday card in Abu Dhabi while another sporting event you might have heard of (you know...Snoop Dogg, Simone Biles, etc.) was going on a shade more than 4,000 miles to the northwest in Paris.

Ranked bantamweights Cory Sandhagen (2) and Umar Nurmagomedov (10) got top billing for the octagonal show, which included another high-end scrap at 135 between recent title challenger Marlon Vera and ex-flyweight champ Deiveson Figueiredo and a women's bout matching elite strawweights Mackenzie Dern and Loopy Godinez.

The B/R combat team was in place to take in all the action—which got underway with prelims at noon ET and continued with the main show at 3 p.m.—and delivered a real-time, definitive list of the event's winners and losers. Take a look at what we came up with and drop a thought or two of your own in the comments.

When it comes to assessing Umar Nurmagomedov's performance in Saturday's main event, the final grade depends on what exactly you were expecting going in.

Based on his perfect 17-0 pro record and star-studded corner team that includes legendary former lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov, it wouldn't have been crazy to suggest the Dagestani would punish Cory Sandhagen on the way to smothering him. So, anything less than that might seem a letdown.

On the other hand, the second-ranked Sandhagen arrived eight spots ahead of the No. 10 Nurmagomedov at bantamweight and the Russian was in his first five-round main event in the UFC, so simply finding a way to compete with and perhaps edge out the 32-year-old veteran ought to be graded on a generous curve.

Realistically, the correct verdict probably lies somewhere in between.

Already a winner in each of five UFC appearances, the 28-year-old prospect added a significant line to his resume with a unanimous decision that'll certainly get him in the discussion for follow-up matches that'll lead to a title shot.

"It doesn't matter who's gonna be next. Just give me a title shot," he said. "Now guys, talk about how I didn't beat anybody. Now you can cry. I'm coming for you."

Two judges gave Nurmagomedov four of five rounds and the third had it a shutout for the fighter who landed more significant strikes (91-64), landed more head shots from distance (46-20), had five takedowns to Sandhagen's zero and had a better than four-minute edge in control time (4:33 to 0:12).

"He was more tough than I expected but I think I deserved to win," Nurmagomedov said. "I feel like I beat him in every single round. I had to believe in my striking. In the second round, I began to feel 'I can beat him on striking, too,' and I did it."

It was like an angry, punishing metronome.

When Michal Oleksiejczuk plodded forward, Shara Magomedov kicked him in the belly. When he stayed stationary, Magomedov kicked him in the legs. When his mind wandered to ponder career choices, Magomedov kicked him in the head.

So, if you're getting the idea that the red-haired, red-bearded Dagestani likes to kick people and is particularly when he does so, you're correct.

The 30-year-old hasn't exactly set the world on fire across two wins since reaching the UFC 10 months ago, but Saturday's performance was his best and most important on the way to a clear decision over the 29-year-old Pole in the co-main event.

Two judges gave Magomedov all three rounds, yielding a pair of 30-27 scorecards alongside a 29-28 from an official that found reason to give Oleksiejczuk one.

It was his 14th straight win as a pro and third in a row in the octagon, while Oleksiejczuk skidded to 7-6 with the company and 19-9 overall. Magomedov mixed in some elbows alongside the kicks down the stretch, widening a cut on hie foe's forehead that was spewing like a ghastly fountain by the final horn.

"This is just the start for me," Magomedov said. "My dream is to fight. I'm happy I won today."

Deiveson Figueiredo was a terrific talent and a multi-reign champion at flyweight.

But he may be even better, or at least more effective, at bantamweight.

No longer hampered by the process of boiling down to 125 pounds, the 36-year-old Brazilian has embarked on something of a career renaissance since abandoning that weight class. And he nudged the bar higher on Saturday's main card with a defeat of recent title challenger Marlon Vera in a spirited three-rounder at 135.

It was his third straight win in the division and arguably his most impressive performance in years, including a knockdown of the durable Ecuadorian with a right hand in the final round and a substantial enough energy level to attempt 13 takedowns, control Vera for better than two minutes and not appear fatigued.

Two judges gave him two of three rounds and the other gave him all three.

And, surprise, surprise, the victory had him calling for bigger things after dispatching the fourth-ranked fighter at bantamweight.

"Hey Dana, I beat this guy," he said. "Merab (Dvalishvili), (Sean) O'Malley, I want to fight for the title next."

It may have been the moment. It may not have been.

But given the results Tony Ferguson has gotten lately, it really should be.

The 40-year-old "El Cucuy" heralded training-camp changes after a run of seven straight losses across the last four years, but it did not good against fellow veteran Michael Chiesa, who quickly ended their main-card duel with a rear-naked choke submission after 3 minutes, 44 seconds.

Afterward, Chiesa gave up his interview time and handed the mic to Ferguson, who peeled his gloves off and dropped one to the mat, issuing what he considered a conditional exit pending a discussion when he gets back home.

"I don't want to retire. I really don't," he said.

"But I love the UFC and I don't want to go anywhere else. I'm not going to put the gloves down, not both of them. I'm going to put one down, just in case."

Ferguson hasn't won since stopping the long-since retired Donald Cerrone at UFC 238 in 2019. He was punished on the way to a fifth-round TKO loss to Justin Gaethje 11 months later and subsequently fell to the gradually lesser-accomplished likes of Charles Oliveira (UD 5), Beneil Dariush (UD 5), Michael Chandler (KO 2), Nate Diaz (SUB 4), Bobby Green (SUB 3) and Paddy Pimblett (UD 3) before Chiesa, who was 0-3 himself since 2021.

Joel Alvarez is a flat-out finishing machine.

But that doesn't mean Spanish lightweight isn't a patient guy.

The 31-year-old was particularly proud of his 100 percent finishing rate upon arrival to his main-card opener against Brazilian phenom Elves Brener, but he felt no need to empty the chambers looking for a kill shot in the bout's early stages.

Instead, the 6'3", 155-pounder stalked his prey patiently, gradually forced him to empty his gas as he tried to maintain distance, and ultimately pounced with a sudden series of punishing strikes while securing the TKO just 84 seconds short of the horn.

Alvarez won the first two rounds with superior work rate and gradual damage, but he started the decisive sequence with a right-left combination that folded Brener at the waist, a flurry of knees that dropped him to the floor, and a series of ground strikes that ended it.

The win was his 21st straight finish (four KOs, 17 submissions) as a pro and sixth in a row in the UFC, the second-longest streak among fighters with all finishes.

"I'm a great striker, I'm a great kickboxer," Alvarez said. "I always have a lot of faith in my kickboxing and my striking. I feel good with the finish. I'm one of the most dangerous in the division."

Just when it looked like another sweaty slog to the finish by two exhausted heavyweights, Alonzo Menifield and Azamat Murzakanov changed the narrative.

Menifield, a chiseled Texas-based light heavy, began the sudden Hagler-Hearns reboot with a combination that rocked his Russian foe midway through the second round, but Murzakanov had some sudden answers of his own, too.

The 35-year-old unleashed a hard left-right-left combination that sent Menifield sprawling backward to the floor, and Murzakanov pounced on his prone opponent with a particularly devastating pair of ground shots that made it academic.

He turned and walked away as referee Dan Movahedi intervened, boosting his overall record to 14-0 and his UFC mark to 4-0 (with three finishes) and his hubris as he called out for the promotional brass to speed his rise in the 205-pound ranks.

Murzakanov arrived ranked 14th at the weight, compared to Menifield's 15th.

"14 and 0, no one's worried about that?" he asked sarcastically. "Maybe you want to give me someone from the top five next, eh?

"I don't like to be in the prelims. I'm 4-0 in the UFC. You've got to understand why I don't like that, right?"

Well, so much for home-field advantages.

Lightweight Mohammad Yahya was introduced to a pop and heralded as the first United Arab Emirates fighter to be signed to the UFC, but the honeymoon didn't last.

The military veteran's left leg was kicked to a reddened, lumpy pulp within two minutes of the glove-tap that began his scheduled three-rounder with Brazilian import Kauê Fernandes and the subsequent lack of mobility ensured it didn't much longer.

Yahya was ultimately reduced to a stationary, straight-up target and Fernandes went right to work, dropping him with a quick left/right combination and drawing a rescue from referee Marc Goddard at 4:45 after a series of heavy ground strikes.

It was Fernandes' first win in his second octagonal appearance, and he flew solo for the official announcement in the center of the mat after the hobbled Yahya, now 0-2 in the promotion, and his team quickly exited.

"I have good kicks, it's my art," Fernandes said. "It's a good weapon for me in any fight. I need to show who I am."

For five minutes, Jordan Vucenic looked ready to rise.

The English lightweight, menacingly dubbed "The Epidemic" and intricately tattooed from his waistline to his hairline, spent the first round looking particularly relaxed as he punched, kicked and took veteran Guram Kutateladze apart on the mat and left his opponent's eye resembling, in the words of blow-by-blow man John Gooden, "a dog's dinner."

As UFC debuts for Cage Warriors alums go, it looked awfully good.

Until it didn't.

The tide turned as Kutateladze renewed his aggression in the second round and the touted prospect never regained his swagger on the way to a unanimous decision loss in which each of the three judges saw it 2-1 in the Georgian's favor.

The 28-year-old Vucenic wasn't helped by a haphazard corner team that seemed to indicate he'd be safe on the scorecards after two rounds, but then suggested as the third round progressed that he'd need to take risks, which led to a Kutateladze takedown and the dominant position in which the fight ended.

It wasn't a particularly good visual and surely shaded the scorecards in the winner's direction in spite of deficits in significant strikes (34-30) and overall control time (4:32 to 4:05).

Main Card

Umar Nurmagomedov def. Cory Sandhagen by unanimous decision (50-45, 49-46, 49-46)

Shara Magomedov def. Michal Oleksiejczuk by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

Deiveson Figueiredo def. Marlon Vera by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)

Michael Chiesa def. Tony Ferguson by submission (rear-naked choke), 3:34, Round 1

Mackenzie Dern def. Loopy Godínez by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Joel Álvarez def. Elves Brener by TKO (punches), 3:36, Round 3

Preliminary Card

Azamat Murzakanov def. Alonzo Menifield by KO (punches), 3:18, Round 2

Kauê Fernandes def. Mohammad Yahya by TKO (punches), 4:45, Round 1

Shamil Gaziev def. Don'Tale Mayes by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Guram Kutateladze def. Jordan Vucenic by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Sam Hughes def. Viktoriia Dudakova by split decision (27-30, 29-28, 29-28)

Jai Herbert def. Rolando Bedoya by unanimous decision (30-37, 30-27, 29-28)

Sedriques Dumas def. Denis Tiuliulin by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)