Bryce Mitchell sprinted to the Octagon wearing a huge smile ahead of his featured preliminary bout Saturday at a UFC Fight Night event in Abu Dhabi and continued smiling after earning a win over Said Nurmagomedov.
This was Mitchell’s first bantamweight bout of his UFC career and the first pro bout at 135 pounds since his professional debut in 2015. Mitchell made the decision to drop down from the 145-pound featherweight division following his one-sided loss to Jean Silva earlier this year.
Saturday’s contest didn’t start great for Mitchell.
Nurmagomedov timed a knee that dropped Mitchell as he shot for a takedown midway through the opening round. Nurmagomedov was the more effective striker and did well defending Mitchell’s attacks.
Mitchell withstood the knee and rebounded by controlling the action with his wrestling in the second round. The American continued getting the better of the grappling exchanges in the final round and took home a unanimous decision with all judges scoring the bout 29-28.
Nurmagomedov was coming off a Fight of the Night loss to No. 13-ranked Vinicius Oliveira in February. The 33-year-old Russian has now lost three of his past four overall after beginning his UFC career 6-1.
“I’m happy with the win,” Mitchell said. “That was honestly my hardest fight. He does not look as strong or as fast on film as he does when he’s hitting you.”
Mitchell, 30, looked solid at his new weight and could become a factor in the division although he did not have any particular names on his mind when asked what he’d like to see happen next.
“I’ve never turned down a fight,” Mitchell added. “I always show up happy to fight. I never complain.”
A pair of seasoned veterans upset their younger opponents as Muslim Salikhov and Davey Grant both got their hands raised.
England’s Grant, 39, had a nice comeback win over 30-year-old American Da’Mon Blackshear after dropping the first round before taking control over the final 10 minutes.
Russia’s Salikhov made quick work of 31-year-old Brazilian Carlos Leal with a 42-second highlight knockout.
Leal pressed forward aggressively, and it backfired as Salikhov landed a huge counter right hand that ended the fight. Salikhov then called out Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson following his win. Thompson is 42 and a skilled striking specialist like Salikhov.
Earlier on the prelims, Steven Nguyen set a new UFC record for most knockdowns in a single fight by sending Mohammad Yahya to the canvas six separate times in a one-sided technical knockout victory.
The opening bout of the prelims saw 13-time jiu-jitsu world champion Marcus Buchecha make his UFC debut against veteran Martin Buday. Buchecha entered the bout with a 5-1 pro MMA record but fell to 5-2 after losing a unanimous decision to Slovakia’s Buday, who entered the weekend as the No. 13-ranked heavyweight contender.
Buchecha was unsuccessful in his frequent takedown attempts in Round 1 and was forced to trade punches with his more experienced and much bigger opponent. Buday is one of the biggest heavyweights on the UFC roster. In fact, he has to cut weight to get down to the 266-pound non-title limit.
The Brazilian was able to drive Buday to the canvas early in Round 2 and, after passing to half guard and looking to isolate Buday’s left arm, Buchecha scrambled to take the back but was unable to lock in a rear-naked choke. Buchecha was visibly fatigued, and Buday was more effective in the final round en route to a unanimous decision win.
Buday is quietly 7-1 in the UFC since debuting in 2022.
Tabatha Ricci picked up the second stoppage win of her UFC career with a TKO of Amanda Ribas in their strawweight contest.
Ricci heeded the advice of her corner in between the first and second rounds as they instructed her to throw short upward elbows from the clinch along the cage. Ricci did exactly that and pressed Ribas against the fence and found openings to hurt Ribas with a series of left elbows to the face.
An elbow directly to the eye of Ribas sent her to the canvas, and Ricci followed up with punches as the referee stepped in.
Ribas has now lost three consecutive bouts and four of her past five, while Ricci got back in the win column following a decision loss to one-time title challenger Yan Xiaonan in November. Ricci has won three of her past four and holds a notable win over Gillian Robertson.
Billy Elekana and Ibo Aslan had a forgettable 15-minute glorified sparring session, with Elekana getting his hand raised via unanimous decision. The pair combined for only 64 total strikes — 35 for Elekana and 29 for Aslan — in the three-round bout in the light-heavyweight division.
