Cory Sandhagen and Umar Nurmagomedov headline one of the most stacked UFC Fight Nights you’ll see all year. Saturday’s winner will likely challenge Sean O’Malley or Merab Dvalishvili for the UFC bantamweight title down the line.
Sandhagen (17-4) has never shied from a tough fight. “The Sandman” has long been pegged as a future UFC champion but key setbacks against Aljamain Sterling and Petr Yan in a title eliminator and interim title fight held him back. Eager to lock down an undisputed title shot, Sandhagen took the unexpected route of challenging a fighter well behind him in the UFC’s official bantamweight rankings. Sandhagen (No. 2) called out Nurmagomedov (No. 10), the division’s undefeated boogeyman.
“This one prepares me equally well to fight O’Malley or Merab with Merab’s grappling and O’Malley’s long striking style. Umar is a version of these two put together in a sense. I’m preparing for the title fight at the same time that I’m preparing for a well-rounded, undefeated Nurmagomedov. That’s exciting as hell, man.”
Nurmagomedov (17-0) looks to repeat the unrivaled success of his cousin, undefeated former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. The older brother of Bellator lightweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov, Umar could soon add more gold to the family trophy case. There is a long list of reasons why fighters reportedly turn down fights against Umar. He is a dominant grappler, averaging 4.5 takedowns per 15 minutes in the UFC and a 41% submission finish rate. He wields impressive striking despite his lack of knockout finishes. Nurmagomedov is No. 4 all-time for positive striking differential (4.19) — behind Tom Aspinall, Cris Cyborg and O’Malley — and holds the UFC record for the fewest strikes absorbed per minute (0.56). Nurmagomedov is incredibly difficult to hit, a lofty challenge for a dynamic striker like Sandhagen.
Check out the full interview with Nurmagomedov below.
This weekend’s Fight Night is a banger, especially compared to next week’s pittance of a card headlined by Marcin Tybura vs. Sergei Spivak. Former flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo continues his bantamweight campaign against Marlon Vera, the latter of whom recently fought O’Malley for the world title. Tony Ferguson — the second-place record holder for the longest UFC lightweight win streak — could set the unfortunate record for most consecutive losses if he suffers an eighth straight defeat against Michael Chiesa.
Below is the rest of the fight card for Saturday with the latest odds before we get to a prediction and pick on the main event.
UFC Fight Night card, odds
Umar Nurmagomedov -330 Cory Sandhagen +260 Bantamweight Shara Magomedov -238 Michael Oleksiejczuk +195 Middleweight Deiveson Figueiredo -145 Marlon Vera +122 Bantamweight Michael Chiesa -600 Tony Ferguson +430 Welterweight Mackenzie Dern -115 Loopy Godizen -105 Women’s strawweight Joel Alvarez -166 Elves Brener +140 Lightweight
UFC Fight Night viewing information
Date: Aug. 3 | Start time: 3 p.m. ET (main card)
Location: Etihad Arena — Yas Island, United Arab Emirates
TV channel: ESPN+
Prediction
Who wins UFC Fight Night: Sandhagen vs. Nurmagomedov, and how exactly does each fight end? Visit SportsLine now to get detailed picks on UFC Fight Night, all from the MMA expert who profited more than $1,500 on his UFC main-card picks in 2023, and find out.
