One of several debuting fighters on the UFC Abu Dhabi card, welterweight Abubakar Vagaev faced off against Saygid Izagakhmaev to open the event’s main card.
Izagakhmaev was 0-1 in the promotion after dropping his own promotional debut last time out.
It wasn’t five seconds into the fight before Izagakhmaev overthrew a punch and Vagaev got an easy takedown. Izagakhmaev was able to use the cage to get back to his feet. Vagaev tried to hit a trip, but Izagakhmaev defended it, though he still couldn’t get off the cage. Vagaev kept the pressure on, constantly mixing in trips until he finally got the fight back to the ground. This time, Izagakhmaev was away from the cage but was able to shoulder roll his way back to it. He used a heel hook attempt to create a scramble but ended up stuck on the cage again. The few times Izagakhmaev had a chance to escape, he chose to re-engage, allowing Vagaev to regain control. He eventually created some space with about 20 seconds left and landed a good right hand at the bell.
Round two started with two hard leg kicks from Izagakhmaev. Vagaev looked pretty tired but still landed a good right hand. Izagakhmaev changed levels and scored a nice takedown. It was a good job of mixing things up, but Vagaev quickly got back to his feet and put Izagakhmaev against the cage. This time, though, Izagakhmaev escaped fairly quickly. Vagaev was mixing it up well with knees and hooks to the body. Whenever he pushed forward, he found it pretty easy to back Izagakhmaev up against the cage. Izagakhmaev did a better job of getting off the fence this round, at least. He was still making a lot of mistakes by engaging in the clinch, which allowed Vagaev to rack up control time and land some nice clinch strikes.
Going into round three, it was likely Izagakhmaev needed to find a finish. He came out with a big right hand, and Vagaev welcomed the exchange. Although Vagaev landed some good shots of his own, he was hurt by a right hand. He shot for a takedown, but Izagakhmaev defended it and landed more damaging shots. For some reason, Vagaev kept forcing the wrestling and even ended up getting taken down himself. Izagakhmaev used a kimura to scramble to his feet, but Vagaev still had the body lock.
After the referee separated them, Vagaev timed a double leg and planted Izagakhmaev. It was too close to the cage, though, as Izagakhmaev got back to his feet quickly and ended up on top. The tide turned very quickly, and for a moment it looked like he was going to secure an arm-triangle. Vagaev survived, but he allowed Izagakhmaev to hang around in mount and on the back. Izagakhmaev eventually attacked an armbar, but the bell likely saved Vagaev.
Official Result: Abubakar Vagaev def. Saygid Izagakhmaev by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
