Today's Edition
KUUMAR SHYAM (ABU DHABI)
If a man is known for the company he keeps, Amru Magomedov ensured his team’s impact came out with all stars shining on the vacant lightweight title belt of UAE Warriors 45 at the Mubadala Dome at Al Jazira club in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday night.
A training partner with athletes such as UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev and Bellator champ Usman Nurmagomedov, last night’s eventual winner of the main fight beat his opponent, the Dubai-based Jakhongir Jumaev in a power-packed card of 12 fights beginning 7pm.
The Russian Magomedov always had the edge given his record, (7-0 after Tuesday), compared to Jumaev, who fell to 10-4. Yet, the victory was convincing as it came inside three-and-half minutes in an anti-climax.
Victory with a rear-naked choke finish came at the 3:28 mark. Magomedov showed off his striking early, coming out with a kick-heavy approach, and throwing hard leg kicks. A wild exchange in the pocket led to a clinch, where Magomedov took Jumaev’s back, and finished with the choke.
Walter Cogliandro stunned the reigning featherweight champion Ali Al Qaisi in the biggest upset of the night, even if it was in the non-title catchweight 75-kilogramme contest.
The Italian landed a sharp right-handed blow to the left side of his opponent to soften up Al Qaisi. He followed it up with a barrage of blows to force the referee to stop the contest.
Rany Saadeh scored a submission victory over Genil Francisco of the Philippines in the second round of the bout, which became the co-main event in a late change on the card.
Raulian Paiva missed weight for his scheduled fight against Timur Valiev, the original co-main event. As a result of the missed weight, the fight was cancelled on safety grounds.
Among other results, Russia’s Renat Khavalov defeated One & Rizin veteran Hikaru Yoshino, Brazil’s Victor Nunes scored a walk-off KO win over Jordan’s Nawras Abzakh, Yamato Fujita won his second straight fight in UAE Warriors with a submission win over Sanzhar Adilov, and Kyrgyzstan’s Razhabali Shaydullaev remained undefeated after 10 fights with a huge win over Russian Magomed Al Abdullah.
