Amru Magomedov made his title fight look like a stroll in the park on Tuesday.
The rising Russian star, part of Team Nurmagomedov, produced a flawless round to submit Dubai-based Uzbek Jakhongir Jumaev in the first round to take home the vacant UAE Warriors lightweight title at the Mubadala Dome in Abu Dhabi.
It took just under three-and a-half-minutes for Magomedov to end the contest with a rear naked choke and extend his undefeated run to seven fights, which includes three wins under the UAE Warriors banner.
Magomedov went on the offensive from the outset, striking early and landing stinging kicks before getting on Jumaev’s back and finishing off the contest.
The shock of the night came when Walter Cogliandro stunned the UAE Warriors featherweight champion Ali Al Qaisi in a non-title catchweight 150lbs contest.
The Italian landed a straight right to the left side of his head to drop Al Qaisi to the canvas and then finished him off with a flurry of strikes before the referee stopped the contest three minutes and 56 seconds in the first round.
Rany Saadeh scored an emphatic second-round submission victory over Genil Francisco of the Philippines in the co-main event.
This bout became the new co-main event after Raulian Paiva missed weight for his scheduled fight against Timur Valiev. As a result of the missed weight, the fight was cancelled on safety grounds by UAE Warriors officials.
Elsewhere on the card, 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.
Showdown Week will by headlined by UFC 294 this Saturday, October 21, live from the Etihad Arena and will feature superstars Islam Makhachev, Alex Volkanovski, Khamzat Chimaev, Kamaru Usman, and many others.
