1. Crossroads Moment for Both Sandhagen and Nurmagomedov
Cory Sandhagen shouldn’t be in this position, but the dominoes have fallen in such a way that risks need to be taken to avoid getting lost in the shuffle of the stacked bantamweight division. “The Sandman” is highly regarded as one of the top bantamweights today and could just as easily have been selected as the next challenger for champion O’Malley and be the headliner for the Sphere.
But a new face in the picture in Merab Dvalishvili has moved the timetable for Sandhagen, and waiting 18 months (potentially more) for a title shot that may not materialize is a risk he elected not to take. Now, the 32 year-old will be putting his spot in the title picture on the line against a younger undefeated contender who carries a name and a legacy behind him that he would like to add to.
Umar Nurmagomedov rides a seventeen fight unbeaten streak going into his first UFC headliner, and it is a moment big enough that his celebrated Hall of Fame inducted cousin Khabib will leave the comforts of home to make the walk with him to the Octagon. While it would be easy to simply say that Umar Nurmagomedov finds himself in this fight because of his famous cousin, it would be ignoring the respectable UFC run he has put on to go 5-0 in the promotion with a target on his back. Should he walk away with the victory at UFC Abu Dhabi, most see it as a seminal moment that could catapult him to be the third member of his family to win a belt in a major promotion.
While Sandhagen may have more to lose as the proven veteran going into the bout, but the latest “next big thing” in the division will certainly not be looking to take a step back in a bout that is expected to see him have the crowd advantage in a critical test.
