ABU DHABI, 23rd October, 2022 (WAM) — Islam Makhachev won the UFC lightweight title after a stunning second-round stoppage of Charles Oliveira in front of a sold-out crowd at the Etihad Arena, Yas Island, Abu Dhabi.
Dagestan’s Makhachev looked dominant in the opening round, before stopping former champion Oliveira with an arm-triangle choke at 3:17 of the second period, improving to 23-1 and extending his current unbeaten run to eleven fights.
The new champion was quick to pay tribute to the thousands of fans who came out to support him in Abu Dhabi. “I am very happy to take this belt in Abu Dhabi. You can see how the whole arena supports me. Thank you, Abu Dhabi, and thank you [to] all the people who support me.”
Elsewhere, Aljamain Sterling retained his bantamweight world title, with a second round stoppage win over TJ Dillashaw, and fellow 135lbs standout Sean O’Malley picked up the biggest win of his career via split decision over number one contender Petr Yan.
It was a big night for two fighters with strong links to the Middle East. Iran-born Beneil Dariush extended his unbeaten run in the lightweight division to eight fights by scoring a unanimous decision win over Polish prospect Mateusz Gamrot. Belal Muhammad, who was born to Palestinian parents, picked up an impressive TKO win over Sean Brady, making him unbeaten now in his last nine outings in the welterweight division.
“The crowd and the energy was amazing,” said the 22-3-1NC Muhammad. “It is one of those things that is going to live in my memory forever, I love Abu Dhabi and need to fight here every chance I get because the last two times I was here I got a finish so let’s keep that going.”
For Dariush, the win has him looking towards the lightweight title. “He (Gamrot) might be the best guy I have fought, it was a very satisfying victory. My day will come, if that performance, beating a guy like that, if that’s not the way to ask (for a title shot) then I don’t know how to ask – if we are talking about merit I don’t think there is anyone else,” Dariush explained.
The results in full are as follows:
– Islam Makhachev defeated Charles Oliveira by submission (arm triangle choke) at 3:17 of R2
– Aljamain Sterling defeated TJ Dillashaw by TKO (strikes) at 3:44 of R2
– Sean O’Malley defeated Petr Yan by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
– Beneil Dariush defeated Mateusz Gamrot by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
– Manon Fiorot defeated Katlyn Chookagian by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
– Belal Muhammad defeated Sean Brady by TKO (strikes) at 4:47 of R2
– Caio Borralho defeated Makhmud Muradov by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
– Nikita Krylov defeated Volkan Oezdemir by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
– Abubakar Nurmagomedov defeated Gadzhi Omargadzhiev via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 29-28)
– Armen Petrosyan defeated AJ Dobson by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
– Muhammad Mokaev defeated Malcolm Gordon by submission (armbar) at 4:26 of R3
– Karol Rosa defeated Lina Lansberg by majority decision (29-27, 29-27, 28-28)
The fight between Oliveira and Makhachev was the latest event held in the UAE capital as part of the partnership between the UFC, and the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi) which began in 2019.
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