UAE Warriors is back for a doubleheader this weekend. In the Space42 Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, you can watch the fights comfortably at home live on UFC Fight Pass. Between the two cards, there’s a slew of prospects you should be watching for. Here is who I think is worth watching.
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Flyweight, Ata Atdayev (5-0)
Atdayev was someone I was vocally high about back in 2021. For some reason, he never fought again, being away from the cage for over four and a half years. He’s still only 28 and making his return for UAE Warriors, so he’s in a better spot than where he was in his last fight.
Before his current undefeated run as a pro, Ata Atdayev carved his path at the IMMAF as an amateur. Along with building up a 10-1 record, he obtained a World and European gold medal. His last two amateur wins came against Israel Galvan and Ruslan Satiev which hold up quite well today.
Atdayev has developed his skillset significantly since his amateur days. He’s always been a strong wrestler and grinder, using constant movement and excellent timing to secure takedowns. His striking is improving as well as he’s light on his feet, fast, and fluid. His kicking game stands out most, as he targets the legs, body, and head while mixing in occasional spinning attacks.
It’s untelling how he’s gonna look with so much time away from the cage. He’s getting no easy fight in his return, fighting Dzhafar Nuraliev (4-1). I wasn’t able to get a lot of tape on Nuraliev, but he’s a formidable opponent and a win over him would be a good sign.
Middleweight, Magomed Kurbanov (3-0)
In his first three fights, he’s picked up a knockout, a submission, and a decision—showing he can win in multiple ways. I wasn’t a big fan of his last outing, though, as he fought with very little urgency. He still dominated and got a full 15 minutes of cage time.
Kurbanov can wrestle and has a sneaky-good kicking game. He uses his 6’3″ frame well, especially at range, where those kicks really come into play. That length also helps his defensive wrestling—he was hitting switches in his last fight. From what I’ve seen, his wrestling and overall ground game are where he looks most comfortable. He’s good at taking the back and locking in a body triangle, and he already has a win by RNC.
Hopefully he’s more active this time around. He’s facing Sardor Babayanov (5-2), who has more experience and a wrestling background, which should play into Kurbanov’s strengths in this matchup.
Featherweight, Ramazan Ragimov (6-0)
Ragimov was a freight train through his first six bouts, running through all of them with finishes inside two rounds. He came back down to earth a bit in his last fight against a legit opponent. He did slow down and had his leg chewed up, but still won comfortably and never looked close to breaking. In my opinion, it’s crazy that it was even a split decision.
Ragimov is a tall featherweight but is moving up to lightweight for this one. On the feet, he’s comfortable both at range and in close. At range, he’s a dangerous kickboxer, and on the inside, his Thai clinch is nasty with elbows and knees. He times his takedowns well and does a good job securing them out of the clinch. On top, Ragimov is very sticky. He has two wins by ground-and-pound and two by submission. He’s slick at taking the back, and with his long frame, he’s tough to shake off.
He’s facing Alexey Budrin (6-1), a grappler, so this is a good opportunity for Ragimov to find another finish potentially.
Flyweight, Flobater Fares (3-0)
Fares is someone I’ve been a fan of since his amateur days. He had a long amateur run, going 14-7 with one no contest. Not a perfect record, but he fought good competition. Along the way, he won multiple titles and was an IMMAF European champion.
One issue is that he can be a bit too confident fighting off his back. Instead of defending takedowns, he’ll fall back chasing guillotines. He’s got good jiu-jitsu, but not quite at the level to rely on it that much. I do love his striking, though. Fares is excellent at controlling range with smart feints, long straight punches, and kicks. He puts his combinations together well and mixes up his angles.
He’s fighting Elorde Jr. Sandigon (6-1), a matchup he should be able to run through.
