News, UFC August 9, 2024

The biggest fights at UFC Abu Dhabi

The biggest fights at UFC Abu Dhabi
UFC in Abu Dhabi has hosted some absolutely tremendous bouts between the world’s top MMA athletes. Here’s a look at the biggest fights to appear in the UAE capital so far.

Volkanovski vs Holloway 1
This was the first fight in the trilogy of two of the best featherweight fighters around. The pair treated MMA fans in Abu Dhabi to a technical masterclass. Alexander Volkanovski was largely expected to struggle against Max Holloway’s range in his first title defence. But it was the Aussie who led the dance from start to finish—putting on a clinic of deft footwork that allowed him to bounce in and out of the Hawaiian’s lethal strikes. Volkanovski took a unanimous decision victory to retain the featherweight gold.

Adesanya vs Costa
The talk ahead of this matchup for the UFC Middleweight Championship was how Israel Adesanya could cope with the enormously muscular and strong contender Paolo Costa. Izzy is built for the middleweight division, but Costa could compete at heavyweight if he wanted to. The answer to the question was delivered within nine minutes. Adesanya managed to slip the haymakers from the Brazilian as he laid the trap to catch him with a vicious combo that crumpled Costa for the TKO.

Makhachev vs Volkanovski 2
Volkanovski moved up from featherweight to take on Islam Makhachev for the UFC Lightweight Championship in Perth, Australia, on February 12th, 2023. It was a close fight that Makhachev won via unanimous decision. It was such a tight affair that there were immediate calls for a rematch, which happened when Islam’s scheduled opponent – Charles Oliviera – was injured before UFC 294 in Abu Dhabi. Volkanovski stepped up on short notice, hoping to wrestle the belt away. But this time, Makhachev dispatched Alexander The Great in devastating fashion – looping a kick up high that switched the Aussie’s light switch off.

McGregor vs Poirier 2
Conor McGregor brought the star power to Abu Dhabi when he stepped across the octagon from Dustin Poirier. Having already beaten the American back in 2014, McGregor faced a much improved Poirier and was looking to put him in his place again. There’d been a year’s layoff for the Irishman, but through the first round, there was no noticeable octagon rust as he continuously picked his spots on an apprehensive foe. But round two shocked the MMA world as Poirier grew in confidence and, after backing McGregor up, unloaded a vicious combo for the knockout victory.

Nurmagomedov vs. Gaethe
At 29 wins and zero losses, Khabib Nurmagomedov is considered one of the greatest MMA fighters ever. “The Eagle” put his win streak and UFC Lightweight Championship on the line against the always dangerous Justin Gaethe. Nurmagomedov struggled with the powerful calf kicks – a few of which had him stumbling for balance. As Gaethe went in for the kill in the second round, Khabib secured a slick takedown before transitioning from full mount to a triangle choke win. Minutes later, Nurmagomedov announced his shock retirement in the octagon during his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan.