UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov watched on Friday night as the UAE Warriors made its Dubai debut – with Chi Lewis-Parry defending comfortably his heavyweight title in the main event.
Nurmagomedov, in the emirate to prepare for his long-awaited comeback at UFC 254 on Fight Island in Abu Dhabi, was at Rotunda Caesars Palace alongside teammates and longtime coach Javier Mendez. The Russian had two members of his team competing on the card.
Nurmagomedov, unbeaten in all 28 professional mixed martial arts bouts, has not fought since defeating Dustin Poirier in September 2019, which also took place in Abu Dhabi. His return to the octagon next month, against interim champion Justin Gaethje, brings down the curtain on the UFC's second Fight Island series, which begins in the capital on Sunday with UFC 253.
Nurmagomedov has been training in Dubai this past week for his comeback to the octagon. Speaking on the sidelines of UAE Warriors 13, the Dagestan native said: "My preparations are going very good. Right now it's one month before the fight in Abu Dhabi. I feel great; my shape is very good. I'm very excited for this.
“All the time I came back to the UAE and fighting in Abu Dhabi, for me it’s like I’m fighting in my home. I feel great being here, with these people and I thank you very much you guys.”
Speculation has been rife that Nurmagomedov is considering retiring should he defeat Gaethje and then win one more fight to take his record to 30-0. On Friday night, he said: “Right now I don’t know. I have a fight in one month, and what happens after nobody knows. Right now I want to focus on my next fight because I have a really tough opponent: Justin Gaethje is the interim champ and I’m focused on him.”
Nurmagomedov said the UAE Warriors was “the best MMA organisation in the Middle East”, and seemed to enjoy another night of combat action. Having relocated from its traditional base in the capital, UAE Warriors 13 took place behind closed doors and featured 13 bouts, with the unbeaten Lewis-Parry prevailing at the top of the bill.
The towering Englishman, who holds the record for the quickest victory in UAE Warriors history, took little time to see off UFC veteran Fabio Maldonado, winning by TKO in one minute and eight seconds.
At least it lasted a full minute longer than his triumph in July last year, when Lewis-Parry took out Mahmoud Hassan in eight seconds at UAE Warriors 7. With the win on Friday, the heavyweight champion lifted his professional mixed martial arts record to nine victories and two losses.
Earlier in the night, Australia's Casey O’Neill made it five consecutive wins by dispatching Christina Stelliou by TKO in the second round, while one of Nurmagomedov’s team, Imamshafi Aleiv, took a unanimous decision win in a gripping fight against Elijas Paknys.
Knockout of the night arrived via Hashem Arkhagha, who saw off Iuri Fraga midway through the first round.
PROFILE OF INVYGO
Started: 2018
Founders: Eslam Hussein and Pulkit Ganjoo
Based: Dubai
Sector: Transport
Size: 9 employees
Investment: $1,275,000
Investors: Class 5 Global, Equitrust, Gulf Islamic Investments, Kairos K50 and William Zeqiri
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Plan to boost public schools
A major shake-up of government-run schools was rolled out across the country in 2017. Known as the Emirati School Model, it placed more emphasis on maths and science while also adding practical skills to the curriculum.
It was accompanied by the promise of a Dh5 billion investment, over six years, to pay for state-of-the-art infrastructure improvements.
Aspects of the school model will be extended to international private schools, the education minister has previously suggested.
Recent developments have also included the introduction of moral education - which public and private schools both must teach - along with reform of the exams system and tougher teacher licensing requirements.
2018 ICC World Twenty20 Asian Western Sub Regional Qualifier
Event info: The tournament in Kuwait is the first phase of the qualifying process for sides from Asia for the 2020 World T20 in Australia. The UAE must finish within the top three teams out of the six at the competition to advance to the Asia regional finals. Success at regional finals would mean progression to the World T20 Qualifier.
Teams: UAE, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Maldives, Qatar
Friday fixtures: 9.30am (UAE time) - Kuwait v Maldives, Qatar v UAE; 3pm - Saudi Arabia v Bahrain
Name: Peter Dicce
Title: Assistant dean of students and director of athletics
Favourite sport: soccer
Favourite team: Bayern Munich
Favourite player: Franz Beckenbauer
Favourite activity in Abu Dhabi: scuba diving in the Northern Emirates
Learn more about Qasr Al Hosn
In 2013, The National's History Project went beyond the walls to see what life was like living in Abu Dhabi's fabled fort:
Read more from Mina Al-Oraibi
The specs: 2019 Haval H6
Price, base: Dh69,900
Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 197hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 315Nm @ 2,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 7.0L / 100km
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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EPayal%20Kapadia%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Kani%20Kusruti%2C%20Divya%20Prabha%2C%20Chhaya%20Kadam%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 194hp at 5,600rpm
Torque: 275Nm from 2,000-4,000rpm
Transmission: 6-speed auto
Price: from Dh155,000
On sale: now
Sunday's fixtures
- Bournemouth v Southampton, 5.30pm
- Manchester City v West Ham United, 8pm
RESULT
Shabab Al Ahli Dubai 0 Al Ain 6
Al Ain: Caio (5', 73'), El Shahat (10'), Berg (65'), Khalil (83'), Al Ahbabi (90' 2)
Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
Know your cyber adversaries
Cryptojacking: Compromises a device or network to mine cryptocurrencies without an organisation's knowledge.
Distributed denial-of-service: Floods systems, servers or networks with information, effectively blocking them.
Man-in-the-middle attack: Intercepts two-way communication to obtain information, spy on participants or alter the outcome.
Malware: Installs itself in a network when a user clicks on a compromised link or email attachment.
Phishing: Aims to secure personal information, such as passwords and credit card numbers.
Ransomware: Encrypts user data, denying access and demands a payment to decrypt it.
Spyware: Collects information without the user's knowledge, which is then passed on to bad actors.
Trojans: Create a backdoor into systems, which becomes a point of entry for an attack.
Viruses: Infect applications in a system and replicate themselves as they go, just like their biological counterparts.
Worms: Send copies of themselves to other users or contacts. They don't attack the system, but they overload it.
Zero-day exploit: Exploits a vulnerability in software before a fix is found.
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
PROFILE
Name: Enhance Fitness
Year started: 2018
Based: UAE
Employees: 200
Amount raised: $3m
Investors: Global Ventures and angel investors
Result
Arsenal 4
Monreal (51'), Ramsey (82'), Lacazette 85', 89')
West Ham United 1
Arnautovic (64')
Abu Dhabi GP Saturday schedule
12.30pm GP3 race (18 laps)
2pm Formula One final practice
5pm Formula One qualifying
6.40pm Formula 2 race (31 laps)
Fixtures:
Thursday:
Hatta v Al Jazira, 4.55pm
Al Wasl v Dibba, 7.45pm
Friday:
Al Dhafra v Al Nasr, 5.05pm
Shabab Al Ahli Dubai v Al Wahda, 7.45pm
Saturday:
Ajman v Emirates, 4.55pm
Al Ain v Sharjah, 7.45pm
