Sean O’Malley had a vested interest in the UFC Abu Dhabi main event because the winner could end up as the next challenger for his bantamweight title.
In the end, Umar Nurmagomedov earned an impressive unanimous decision win over Cory Sandhagen to vault himself near the top of the division and potentially solidify his position as the No. 1 contender. O’Malley credited Nurmagomedov on a job well done, especially knowing how much respect he had for Sandhagen as a fighter.