UFC Abu Dhabi paths to victory: How can Cory Sandhagen or Umar Nurmagomedov go away because the No. 1 contender?

Cory Sandhagen and Umar Nurmagomedov are lastly going to struggle.

This Saturday, Sandhagen and Nurmagomedov face off in the principle occasion of UFC Abu Dhabi, with a bantamweight title shot presumably on the road. It was a matchup that was speculated to happen a yr in the past, however now it’s lastly right here, and the stakes are huge. So how can every man go away Abu Dhabi as the subsequent in line to problem for the bantamweight title?

Let’s have a look.

Picture by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC through Getty Photographs

Paths to Victory for Cory Sandhagen at UFC Abu Dhabi

Cory Sandhagen is kind of presumably essentially the most well-rounded fighter within the UFC’s bantamweight division. A various striker who makes use of his size and selection on the ft, together with frequent stance switches, to maintain his opponents guessing, however in latest outings we’ve seen Sandhagen lean on his wrestling sport extra. In opposition to Chito Vera and Rob Font, Sandhagen used his wrestling to arrange his placing and visa versa, taking the struggle to the ground and controlling the motion when he wasn’t outworking his opponents on the ft.

In opposition to Nurmagomedov although, it’s unlikely we see a lot of that offensive wrestling sport from Sandhagen. Umar is an distinctive floor fighter and so the plan for Sandhagen should start and finish with preserving issues standing. On the ft, Sandhagen’s size and selection give him a transparent edge over the restricted Nurmagomedov, and thankfully for Sandhagen, a few of his type is already well-built to help this purpose.

Sandhagen already is superb at sustaining his vary, dissuading stress along with his footwork, angles, and stance-switches. That footwork is essential because it’s considerably tougher for Nurmagomedov to complete takedowns in open house, particularly if he’s capturing from distant. Sandhagen wants to keep up the vary, keep off the fence, and keep energetic down the middle with jabs and teeps. Make Nurmagomedov pay for attempting to shut the space and by no means give him straightforward takedowns. That’s the Sandhagen gameplan in a nutshell.

Picture by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC through Getty Photographs

Paths to victory for Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC Abu Dhabi

Nurmagomedov is maybe essentially the most hyped prospect in all of MMA. Making his UFC debut in 2021, and carrying the burden of expectation that comes from sharing a final title with one of many biggest fighters of all time, Nurmagomedov has performed nothing to dissuade the hype surrounding him. In actual fact, the most important obstacle for Nurmagomedov to stand up the ranks has been an absence of individuals keen to struggle him. That adjustments on Saturday.

One of many large promoting factors behind Nurmagomedov is the concept that he’s each a world-class grappler and might strike. That’s a bit reductive, however it’s not far off. Nurmagomedov is an distinctive wrestler and grappler, as his cousin Khabib and youthful brother Usman are, nonetheless, his placing is a bit overblown.

That’s to not say Nurmagomedov doesn’t have palms. He has some actual flash to his sport, particularly along with his kicks, and he carries extra pure energy than a lot of the different fighters from the Crew Khabib struggle camp. However he’s nonetheless restricted on the ft (he principally by no means makes use of his left hand), and has some unhealthy tendencies, particularly defensively. However in the end, it hasn’t mattered but as his grappling means is a superb coverup for some other shortcomings.

Nurmagomedov is elite at snatching a leg every time he’s in hassle, or when the chance presents itself, and from there he’s very similar to Khabib in his means to run the pipe, chain methods, and transfer opponents to the fence or sneak to the again. It’s a multilayered grappling assault and one he can provoke out of just about nowhere. The grappling is the Nurmagomedov’s large gun and the way he wins this struggle.

Prediction

Cory Sandhagen is kind of presumably essentially the most troublesome type matchup within the bantamweight division for Umar Nurmagomedov. Together with his expertise, well-rounded abilities, and superior placing, he presents a large leap up in competitors for Nurmagomedov. It’s like going from driving go-karts to driving a System 1 automotive.

However Nurmagomedov is Max Verstappen.

Sandhagen is well-rounded, however he’s by no means been an elite defensive wrestler, and for pretty much as good as he could also be on the bottom, Nurmagomedov is best. That is going to be a popping out get together for the highly-touted Dagestani as he punches his ticket to a bantamweight title shot.

Umar Nurmagomedov def. Cory Sandhagen through submission (rear-naked choke) — Spherical 3, 2:20