Nurmagomedov Vs. Sandhagen Headlines UFC Abu Dhabi In August

A battle of top bantamweights has been rebooked as the main event for the UFC’s return to Abu Dhabi, UAE.

Ask and you shall receive.

Not many fighters are calling out Umar Nurmagomedov, partially because he’s an extremely tough opponent, and partially because he has a hard time making it to fight night healthy. But neither of those considerations stopped Cory Sandhagen from making it known that he wanted a fight with Umar rebooked after the Dagestani fighter pulled out of their UFC Nashville showdown in August 2023.

Now the two top bantamweights will clash in the main event of a UFC Fight Night in Abu Dhabi on August 3rd. The UFC announced the bout via its social media accounts this morning.

Sandhagen hasn’t fought since that UFC Nashville event, where he blanked late replacement Rob Font on the scorecards. A bad arm injury has kept him from competing (and wiping his butt), but the No. 2 ranked bantamweight expects a win over No. 9 ranked Nurmagomedov will launch him back into the title discussion at 135 pounds. “Sandman” is on a three fight win streak, with his last loss coming to Petr Yan back in 2021.

As for Umar Nurmagomedov, Khabib’s younger cousin sports a perfect 16-0 record and is 5-0 in the UFC. He’s also pulled out of four fights for various reasons, most recently against Sandhagen due to a shoulder injury. His last fight was a decision win over Bekzat Almakhan in March.

Tickets for the Abu Dhabi event go on sale May 7th. No further fights have been revealed for the UFC’s return to Etihad Arena, but we’ll keep you up to date as the card is fleshed out.