Overview
- Shara “Bullet” Magomedov recovered from an early knockdown to outwork Michel Pereira and win a unanimous decision in the UFC Baku co-main event.
- At the post-fight press conference Magomedov said he wants a fight with Israel Adesanya but offered to let his training partner and teammate Abus Magomedov take the matchup instead.
- Abus Magomedov reinforced the brothers’ momentum by winning earlier on the card with an opening-round submission over Michal Oleksiejczuk.
- The bout drew criticism of referee Herb Dean after apparent hair pulling and an eye poke went without a point deduction, comments that were echoed by fighters including Alex Pereira and Tom Aspinall.
- The results shift middleweight matchmaking talk because a win over Adesanya would be marquee for a contender and Adesanya’s extended winless run frames any proposed matchup as pivotal for both his career and the division order.