MMA
UFC at ABC: Robert Whittaker vs. Reinier de Ridder Main Preview and card failure
Published
1 year agoon
(Photo Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)In general, these “Fight Night” cards without payments are quite tame and kept in front of almost any audience on the top of the UFC. This is not the UFC release on ABC on July 26. This card takes place at the well -known Etihad arena in the United Arab Emirates. It will be the 21st UFC visit to the Etihad Arena, the majority in the last four years from the end of the arena in 2021.
We have two ranking fights with the five best guys in the main and co-head event. At Headliner No. 5 Robert “Bobby Knuckles” Whittaker is heading No. 12 Reinier de Ridder. In cooperation, the former weight weight master and pretender No. 3 Petr Yan fights No. 13 Marcus McGhee.
Even unrestricted duels are fascinating, and Bryce Mitchell is fighting, said Nurmagomedov in Bantameight scrap metal, and Shabutdin Magomedov throws him out of Marc-Andre Bariault in the card opener.
Here’s everything you need to know about this fights quartter! And don’t forget that this event in Abu Dhabi the main card runs at 15.00 et Piercing!
Main event: No. 5 Robert Whittaker vs. No. 12 Reinier de Ridder – Middle Wweight Ranking
Robert Whittaker (26-8) enters this fight in a significant flaw in almost every category. It has a height of six feet, but Reinier de Ridder (20-2) is a massive 6’4 “. 73.5-inch Whittaker’s range will also be relatively petite, and the” Dutch knight “has worked for 79 inches. Both men will be 34 years elderly when they enter the Octagon on July 26.
Whittaker will want to reflect after a slightly embarrassing show against Khamzat Chimaev, who in the first round relaxed the Australian to get the crank on the face of the first round. Bobby has 3-2 because he lost the fight for the title with Israel Adesanya in 2022. Meanwhile, de Ridder won all three UFC fights since joining the promotion last autumn.
De Ridder has finished 13 of his 20 wins by reporting, so Whittaker will definitely look for removal. However, he has a ten in defense of the average weight (over 77 percent), so the Dutchman will be hard to drop him. Borz is the only one who took Bobby Knuckles in the last five fights.
If we were doing UFC forecastsWe would like Bobby Knuckles not only for Nostalgia, but also because it seems a good opportunity to bounce. Sellers also have it mentioned as a petite favorite, so we are not alone.
CO-MAIN event: No. 3 Petr Yan vs. No. 13 Marcus McGhee-Ranking Bantamweight Bout
In the co–Main Petr Yan (18-5) and Marcus McGhee (10-1) event, they fit quite well physically. Yan, at 5’7 “, is a shorter man by one inch, while McGhee also enjoys a two -inch advantage, from 67” to 69 “. However, despite a much longer and more outstanding career for Yan, at the age of 32 he is three years younger than McGhee.
McGhee won all four UFC duels, ending his first three, and recently winning the decision on Jonathan Martinez. Meanwhile, Yan won the last two in a row against much more hard competition in the song Yadong and Deiveson Figueiredo. Some were worried after he lost three hard decisions (MERAB, O’Malley, Sterling), but the Russian seems to have returned. This is the first real challenge of UFC McGhee (he is a huge weaker) and the boy is huge.
Bryce Mitchell vs. Sai
Bryce “Thug Nasty” Mitchell (17-3) comes on 5’9 “with 70-inch range. Said Nurmagomedov (18-4) with a 5’8 frame” and an identical 70-inch range. The Dagestani fighter is three years older, and Mitchell is only 30 years elderly despite the seven years in UFC.
Mitchell was completed by Red Sizzling Jean Silva in his last duel in April, and alternately won and losses in the last six. At that time he won impressive victories over Dan IgE and Edson Barboza. Nurmagomedov does not quite touch his name because he lost two of the last three of the less than the famed competition.
Shabutdin Magomedov vs. Marc-Andre Barriault-Middleight
In the main card opener we get one of the most intriguing MMA fighters in Shabutdin Magomedov (15-1), taking Canadian sensation at Marc-Andre Barriault (17-9, 1 NC). Shara “Bullet” seems to have many advantages here: he is higher than Barriault by one inch (6’2 “vs. 6’1”), and in the age of 31 is four years younger than Barriault. Both have 73-inch resources.
His only disadvantage is that Shara is blind in the right eye. Because of this blindness, he must not fight in the United States yet, he remains a sniper, and his 62.4 -percentage significant striking accuracy takes second place in the weight class.
Shara will want to avenge his first career defeat when he was the last time he fought, when he abandoned his decision on the unconventional and unpredictable side of Michael. Otherwise, he dominated since joining the UFC, winning his first four fights and generally doing it in a dominant way.
Barriault returned with great nervousness towards Bruno Silva in his last fight just two months ago in May. But he lost three in a row (two in the first round of Nokaut) and seems to be on snail-paced.
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MMA
Neil Magny closes in on Jim Miller’s all-time UFC wins record
Published
4 minutes agoon
August 17, 2026
Magny believes he can close the gap on Jim Miller
for the most wins in
Ultimate Fighting Championship history.
Magny (32-14) scored a second-round stoppage win over Ramiz
Brahimaj at UFC
330. The win saw him surpass Max
Holloway and tie Charles
Oliveira for the second-most wins in UFC history (25). Magny is
now only behind Miller (28). “The Haitian Sensation†believes he
will eventually tie or break Miller’s record.
Neil Magny moves within three wins of Jim Miller after UFC
330
Magny has fought the who's who of the UFC welterweight division
since making his debut in the promotion in 2013. The 39-year-old is
the unofficial gatekeeper to the top tier of the division, having
shared the cage with all current 170-pound championship contenders
and derailed several hype trains previously. Still going strong, he
sees himself eventually becoming the all-time leader for Octagon
wins.
“I think Father Time is working in my favor to catch up to Jim,â€
Magny said at the post-fight press conference. “From durability and
timing, I think I can catch that record eventually.â€
Top-ranked contenders Shavkat
Rakhmonov, Ian Garry,
Michael
Morales, Carlos
Prates, and most recently, Yaroslav
Amosov are among those who bested Magny, all of whom are in and
around the title mix. Meanwhile, he's upset several surging
contenders during their ascents, including Mike Malott,
Jake
Matthews and Daniel
Rodriguez.
Neil Magny is
hot on the heels of Jim Miller’s
all-time #UFC
win record after his performance at #UFC330:“I think Father Time is working in my favor to catch up to Jim. …
From durability and timing, I think I can catch that record
eventually.” pic.twitter.com/d1PC2EKm1g— MMA Fighting (@MMAFighting)
August 16, 2026
MMA
Lucas Fernando nearly quit MMA before breakthrough UFC 330 victory
Published
1 hour agoon
August 17, 2026
Fernando likely wouldn't have debuted in the
Ultimate Fighting Championship if not for his wife.
Fernando (14-3) made his promotional debut against Rafael
Tobias at UFC
330. He put on a striking clinic before dropping Tobias with a
knee to the body and finishing him with vicious follow-up shots in
the third round.
Lucas Fernando rebounded from DWCS and LFA losses to earn his
UFC opportunity
Fernando called his wife during the post-fight press conference and
said he couldn't wait to return to her in Brazil after being in the
U.S. for a month. He also credited his wife for talking him out of
quitting mixed martial arts after his loss on
Dana White's Contender Series in 2023. While Fernando was
skeptical about fully committing to the sport after his defeat, his
wife convinced him to pursue his dream of a UFC career.
“My wife, I miss her a lot,†Fernando said at the post-fight
presser. “I've been in the United States for a month training, so I
can't wait to go home… After the loss in Contender, I called her up
and said, ‘You know, maybe this is not for me. I should look for
something else. Or maybe shouldn't dedicate to this 100%. She said
no. She believed in me, she supported me, she supported this dream
of mine to be in the UFC.â€
Fernando suffered a decision loss against Cesar
Almeida at DWCS in 2023, which was followed by another defeat
in the
Legacy Fighting Alliance. He then rebounded with four
consecutive wins that saw him win and defend the LFA light
heavyweight title twice to earn another shot at the UFC.
#UFC330’s
Lucas
Fernando admits his wife talked him out of walking away from
MMA after his failed DWCS loss:“She believed in me, she supported me, and she’s always supported
this dream of being in the UFC.” pic.twitter.com/jkcP6Wnzpk— MMA Fighting (@MMAFighting)
August 16, 2026
MMA
Charles Johnson’s wild UFC 330 submission was no fluke: ‘Once or twice a week’
Published
2 hours agoon
August 17, 2026
Johnson claims he's proficient in the Scottish twister.
Johnson (20-9) was originally scheduled to fight Jose Ochoa
in an
Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweight tilt. However, Ochoa
withdrew after the tragic death of his
Chute Boxe teammate, Allan
Nascimento.
Dana White's Contender Series graduate Eduardo
Henrique stepped up on three days' notice to replace Ochoa
against Johnson, who earned a bonus for a sensational and rare
submission.
Charles Johnson routinely practices the Scottish twister that
finished Eduardo Henrique
While Henrique was efficient on the feet, Johnson wore him out with
a well-rounded approach. As Henrique was trying to reverse a
takedown, “InnerG†caught him in a Scottish twister to force the
tap in the third round. Johnson's Scottish twister was the second
ever in UFC history, following Murtazali
Magomedov's win over Melsik
Baghdasaryan this past June.
Johnson claims he regularly trains the move in practice and
successfully lands it at least once a week. The flyweight veteran
also revealed that he learned the move from former Bellator
MMA bantamweight champion Patrick
“Patchy†Mix.
“I hit that at least once or twice a week on people in practice, so
it's just about getting there,†Johnson said at the post-fight
press conference. “Patchy Mix actually showed me that move, so I'm
going to give him his flowers, man. He showed it to me about a year
and a half ago.â€
Johnson has struggled for consistency in his last six outings, but
has remained active, already recording four fights this year.
ðŸ˜¯ðŸŒªï¸ Charles
Johnson says he hits the Scottish Twister submission on people
‘once or twice a week' in practice, and Patchy Mix showed it to
him“I hit that atleast once or twice a week on people in practice, so
it's just about getting there.Patchy Mix actually showed me that… pic.twitter.com/RlmyS5qkIP
— Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight)
August 16, 2026
Neil Magny closes in on Jim Miller’s all-time UFC wins record
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