On a Saturday 07 September the UFC will make its 3rd appearance in the emirates and its first since 2014. The peak of the card will see a bout in search of undisputed status in the heavily stacked lightweight division . Khabib Nurmagomedov (27-0) looks to make it 12 in a row in the UFC and cement his legacy as the pound for pound greatest. Across from him stands lightweight Interim title holder Dustin Poirier (25-5-1), who will be looking to make a lifetime dream come true . Poirier is the holder of 10 post fight bonuses and will be looking to shock the world when he faces the Dagestan native in Abu Dhabi
Khabib highlights
o UFC lightweight champion and No. 2 ranked pound-for-pound fighter
o 8 wins by KO, 9 by submission
o 11 first-round finishes
-
- Has finished 13 of last 19 wins
- First ever Russian-born UFC champion
- 11-0 in the UFC, second-longest active win streak
o Holds wins over Conor McGregor, Al Iaquinta, Edson Barboza and Rafael Dos Anjos
Poirier Highlights
-
- UFC interim lightweight champion and No. 8 ranked pound-for-pound fighter
- 13 wins by KO, 6 by submission
- Has won 9 of his last 11 bouts, 4 wins in a row
- Earned ‘Fight of the Night’ post-fight bonuses in 4 of his last 6 bouts (10 bonuses overall)
- 12 first-round finishes
- Last four wins has come over UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway, former lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez, former lightweight champion Anthony Pettis, and top-contender Justin Gaethje
South African MMA fans will be watching closely as their favorite MMA son, Don Madge will make his second appearance in the UFC against late replacement Fares Ziam . Madge set the MMA world alight with a vicious head kick KO over TE Edwards in October 2018. Madge claimed a performance bonus on debut , the first ever by a South African and will look to repeat that performance on September 7th
