Umar Nurmagomedov was looking to return to the win column for the first time in his career when he took on the streaking Mario Bautista at UFC 321.
The main card fight in Abu Dhabi found Nurmagomedov coming off a title fight loss against Merab Dvalishvili, the first setback of his pro career. Bautista had won eight straight, and yet remained a massive underdog in the fight.
An early body kick led to an immediate takedown attempt by Nurmagomedov, though Bautista was right back up. Another takedown followed, only for Bautista to go after a nasty-looking toe hold. A lot of rolling and transitions early in the bantamweight fight, though things settled down when Nurmagomedov took the back. He spent the rest of the round there, working, keeping the fight in his wheelhouse.
The fight went right back to the mat early in round two, Nurmagomedov sitting on top in half guard. From there, he would take the back, and get a body triangle locked in place. With over three minutes on the clock, Dagestan’s Nurmagomedov had ample time in which to work. Bautista would make it up by the end of the round, where a knee to the body would hurt Nurmagomedov.
Bautista opened round three with a kick to the body; both fighters would fire some hard kicks in the opening minute, including an exchange of leg kicks. Nurmagomedov shot in quick in the second minute; Bautista scrambled back but was taken down regardless. Quickly back to his feet, Bautista still had his opponent draped over him. The chain wrestling of Umar was as impressive as always, and while the second round had hinted that Bautista might be capable to taking control of the fight, Umar Nurmagomedov reasserted himself in the third. In the vicinity of 10 takedowns across three rounds, Nurmagomedov finished the fight controlling Bautista against the fence, before one last exchange in the final ten seconds.
Official Result: Umar Nurmagomedov def. Mario Bautista by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
