Tagir Ulanbekov marked his promotional debut with a victory at UFC Fight Night in Abu Dhabi on Sunday – then dedicated the win to Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, the late father of Khabib Nurmagomedov.
The Russian, who moved to 11-1 in MMA, defeated Brazil’s Bruno Silva by unanimous decision in the flyweight bout at Flash Forum.
A teammate of undefeated lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, and one of the many fighters trained by Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, Ulanbekov paid tribute to his former coach immediately after the triumph. Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov died in July from heart complications.
Khabib Nurmagomedov headlines UFC 254 in Abu Dhabi on October 24, the fifth and final event on the second Fight Island series. Upon Ulanbekov's victory, the Dagestan native took to social media, posting in Russia: "Father would be proud."
Speaking afterwards, Ulanbekov said: “I want to dedicate this victory to our coach Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov – rest in peace. This fight was a big responsibility for me, I had to motivate my teammates Khabib and Islam [Makhachev] – they are fighting on upcoming cards.
“I didn’t fight the way I wanted. Everybody says the first fight in UFC, you get too much pressure and everything, and I guess it’s true. I felt it as well.
“I wanted to keep the fight standing and I thought I would go through him much easier. I didn’t expect the fight to be this hard; it was one of my hardest fights to date.
“This was a long training camp; I was supposed to fight before but I didn’t, unfortunately. I didn’t fight because Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov died. So it was just pretty much a six-month, non-stop training camp, so now I want to rest.”
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UFC Fight Night 5 - in pictures
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Cory Sandhagen (R) punches Marlon Moraes of Brazil in their bantamweight bout during the UFC Fight Night event inside Flash Forum on UFC Fight Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images -
Marlon Moraes (R) of Brazil punches Cory Sandhagen in their bantamweight bout during the UFC Fight Night event inside Flash Forum on UFC Fight Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images -
Cory Sandhagen (R) kicks Marlon Moraes of Brazil in their bantamweight bout during the UFC Fight Night event inside Flash Forum on UFC Fight Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images -
Cory Sandhagen (L) kicks Marlon Moraes of Brazil in their bantamweight bout during the UFC Fight Night event inside Flash Forum on UFC Fight Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images -
Cory Sandhagen has his arm raised in triumph after his victory over Marlon Moraes in their bantamweight bout during UFC Fight Night in Abu Dhabi. Josh Hedges / Zuffa LLC -
Edson Barboza (L) of Brazil attempts to submit Makwan Amirkhani of Finland in their featherweight bout during the UFC Fight Night event inside Flash Forum on UFC Fight Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images -
Edson Barboza (L) of Brazil punches Makwan Amirkhani of Finland in their featherweight bout during the UFC Fight Night event inside Flash Forum on UFC Fight Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images -
Makwan Amirkhani (L) of Finland punches Edson Barboza of Brazil in their featherweight bout during the UFC Fight Night event inside Flash Forum on UFC Fight Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images -
Edson Barboza of Brazil celebrates his victory over Makwan Amirkhani of Finland in their featherweight bout during the UFC Fight Night event inside Flash Forum on UFC Fight Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images -
Marcin Tybura (L) of Poland punches Ben Rothwell in their heavyweight bout during the UFC Fight Night event inside Flash Forum on UFC Fight Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images -
Ben Rothwell (L) punches Marcin Tybura of Poland in their heavyweight bout during the UFC Fight Night event inside Flash Forum on UFC Fight Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images -
Marcin Tybura of Poland celebrates his victory over Ben Rothwell in their heavyweight bout during the UFC Fight Night event inside Flash Forum on UFC Fight Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images -
Dricus du Plessis (R) of South Africa punches Markus Perez of Brazil in their middleweight bout during the UFC Fight Night event inside Flash Forum on UFC Fight Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images -
Dricus du Plessis of South Africa celebrates his victory over Markus Perez of Brazil in their middleweight bout during the UFC Fight Night event inside Flash Forum on UFC Fight Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images -
Markus Perez (L) of Brazil kicks Dricus du Plessis of South Africa in their middleweight bout during the UFC Fight Night event inside Flash Forum on UFC Fight Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images -
Tom Aspinall (L) of England punches Alan Baudot of France in their heavyweight bout during the UFC Fight Night event inside Flash Forum on UFC Fight Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images -
Tom Aspinall (R) of England punches Alan Baudot of France in their heavyweight bout during the UFC Fight Night event inside Flash Forum on UFC Fight Island on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images -
Tom Aspinall of England punches Alan Baudot of France in their heavyweight bout during the UFC Fight Night event inside Flash Forum on UFC Fight Island on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images -
Tom Aspinall of England celebrates his victory over Alan Baudot of France in their heavyweight bout during the UFC Fight Night event inside Flash Forum on UFC Fight Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images -
Ilia Topuria (R) punches Youssef Zalal of Morocco in their featherweight bout during the UFC Fight Night event inside Flash Forum on UFC Fight Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images -
Youssef Zalal (L) of Morocco kicks Ilia Topuria in their featherweight bout during the UFC Fight Night event inside Flash Forum on UFC Fight Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images -
Ilia Topuria (R) celebrates his victory over Youssef Zalal of Morocco in their featherweight bout during the UFC Fight Night event inside Flash Forum on UFC Fight Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
