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The UFC presented their first ever card in Saudi Arabia on Saturday. The card was getting shuffled a lot leading up to the show, but we got a pretty fun one. Let’s take a look at the results…
Main Card
Robert Whittaker def. Ikram Aliskerov via KO (punches) (R1, 1:49)
Alexander Volkov def. Sergei Pavlovich via unanimous decision (30-27 x2, 29-28)
Kelvin Gastelum def. Daniel Rodriguez via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27 x2)
Shara Magomedov def. Antonio Trocoli via KO (punches) (R3, 2:27)
Volkan Oezdemir def. Johnny Walker via KO (punches) (R1, 2:28)
Preliminary Card
Nasrat Haqparast def. Jared Gordon via split decision (28-29, 29-28 x2)
Felipe Lima def. Muhammad Naimov via submission (rear-naked choke) (R3, 1:15)
Rinat Fakhretdinov def. Nicolas Dalby via split decision (28-29, 29-28 x2)
Muin Gafurov def. Kyung Ho Kang via unanimous decision (30-27 x3)
Magomed Gadzhiyasulov def. Brendson Ribeirovia majority decision (29-28 x2, 28-28)
Chang Ho Lee def. Xiao Long via split decision (28-29, 29-28 x2)
The Prelims
Let’s take a look at some of the fun action from the Prelims…
Chang Ho Lee vs. Xiao Long was really fun. I didn’t know what to expect from the Road to the UFC final, but it delivered. With it being the first fight, it got me hyped for the rest of the card.
Rinat Fakhretdinov vs. Nicolas Dalby was awesome. It was super close and both men were going for it. Back and forth action that was worth the watch! Dalby continues to complete or come close to completing upsets. Not an easy matchup at all.
Felipe Lima…man! Talk about taking advantage of an opportunity. He was a super late replacement and got a big win over the tough Naimov. I’m excited to see more from Lima.
Nasrat Haqparast vs. Jared Gordon was another close, back and forth fight and an excellent way to end the Prelims. Loved this war.
Volkan Oezdemir vs. Johnny Walker
Volkan Oezdemir is a bad man sometimes. He certainly was on Saturday. He just folded Johnny Walker. This was a big win for Volkan and I’m curious to see what the UFC has in store for him next. Johnny Walker really needs to remember how long he is and keep guys at a distance better.
Shara Magomedov vs. Antonio Trocoli
Shara has a lot of hype surrounding him, but he hasn’t really delivered just yet. He got the finish on Saturday, but it came late against a late replacement. With someone carrying the hype that Shara has, the fans and the UFC will have to see more, I think.
Kelvin Gastelum vs. Daniel Rodriguez
I really enjoyed this fight, but it had a weight cloud over it. Kelvin struggled with his weight leading up to this fight…again. The announcers were talking about it. We were all thinking about it. And Dana White is not happy about it. I think it’s a good thing for Kelvin that he won and it was a fun fight.
Alexander Volkov vs. Sergei Pavlovich
The one thing that kind of stunk about the show being in Saudi Arabia is that it was tough to find interviews and other media about the fights. I had no idea these two were having issues leading up to this bout. It seems both felt disrespect over the other taking the fight and felt bad about the Russian fans having two of their men go at it. But in the end, we got a pretty good Heavyweight fight. Pavlovich is a tough man, but Volkov used his length perfectly. He relied on his jab the entire three rounds and stayed behind it to get the win. This was a huge win for Volkov who is now in a position to possibly go for the title or a very high profile title eliminator fight.
Robert Whittaker vs. Ikram Aliskerov
I give Ikram Aliskerov all the credit in the world. He was going to get his biggest fight in the UFC last week in the co-main event. However, he found himself filling in this week instead in the main event against Robert Whittaker. And man, they don’t call Robert Whittaker “Bobby Knuckles” for nothing. Whittaker is one of the best to do it in the Middleweight Division. He showed proof of that on Saturday getting a big time KO. Dana White said that Whittaker is more than welcome to go and be the backup for the upcoming title fight in the division. I will assume that if he’s not needed, a title fight of his own is not far off.
My Picks
I went 7-4 on this card, which was my best effort of the weekend - better than my picks for PFL and Bellator. Not great, but I’ll take the improvement.
Overall, this was a really fun show to watch. The Prelims had some awesome dog fights, while the Main Card had some big time finishes and wars, as well. It was a great MMA cherry on top of a busy fight weekend.
What did you think of the show? Who stood out to you? What should be next for Robert Whittaker? Let me know at matt.tehoeve@gmail.com. I will be back later this week to take a look at another busy MMA weekend. See you then!
