ABU DHABI: The Ultimate Fighting Championship’s CEO Dana White confirmed on his social media platforms on Thursday the main card for the fight night on Aug. 3 which features Cory Sandhagen and Umar Nurmagomedov facing off in Abu Dhabi.
White also revealed a five-pack of intriguing bouts featuring some of the sport’s biggest names and contenders competing in mixed martial arts.
White dubbed the Sandhagen-Nurmagomedov battle a “No.1 contender fight.”
Sandhagen, 32, has been away from fighting since August 2023 after having sustained a tricep injury during his fight against Rob Font. The American MMA fighter won the bout against Font during five rounds in Tennessee.
Returning to the ring for the first time since his injury, Sandhagen is back in Abu Dhabi to cement his status as top contender in the bantamweight division.
The matchup is a rebooking of what was to be the main event in Nashville in August 2023 before a shoulder injury forced Nurmagomedov out of the original bout.
Russian Nurmagomedov, 35, has been called “the best prospect” by White and enters the challenge undefeated.
He has a great chance to catapult himself into the shark pit that is the elite at bantamweight with a win over Sandhagen.
MMA legend Nick Diaz returns to the welterweight division to face all-action fan favorite Vicente Luque. Diaz, a 40-year-old American, was last seen at UFC 266 when he faced Robbie Lawler, but the trip back down to 170 pounds is his first since he fought Georges St-Pierre for the welterweight title in March 2013.
Luque, a 32-year-old Brazilian-American, hopes to bounce back with a big win over a big name after he fell to Joaquin Buckley in Atlantic City in March.
Elsewhere on the main card, the bantamweight spotlight shines on “Chito” Vera as he takes on former flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo.
Vera, a 31-year-old Ecuadorian, is keen to bounce back after a disappointing result in his rematch with champ “Suga” Sean O’Malley at UFC 299.
Meanwhile, in the UFC’s women’s strawweight division, Mackenzie Dern and Loopy Godinez lock horns, with both fighters hoping to restart a run toward the top of the division.
In the main card opener, Tony Ferguson faces Michael Chiesa. Ferguson, a real legend of the sport, is hoping to finally see his hand raised for the first time since June 2019 at the conclusion of the welterweight contest.
