The UFC made first of two stops in Abu Dhabi this year on Saturday with UFC on ABC 9 at Etihad Arena on Yas Island.
With a number of historic feats throughout the card, the night was capped off by former two-division ONE Championship titleholder Reinier de Ridder (20-2 MMA, 4-0 UFC), who won a debated split decision over former UFC champ Robert Whittaker (26-9 MMA, 17-7 UFC) to potentially earn a title shot.
For more on the numbers stemming from the show, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from UFC on ABC 9.
Event stats
The UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payout for the event totaled $191,000.
Debuting fighters went 0-1 at the event.
Shara Magomedov, Marc-Andre Barriault, Muslim Salikhov and Steven Nguyen earned $50,000 UFC on ABC 9 fight-night bonuses.
UFC on ABC 9 had an announced attendance of _. No live gate was revealed for the event.
Betting favorites went 4-7 on the card. One fight had even odds.
Betting favorites fell to 15-10 in UFC headliners this year.
Total fight time for the 12-bout card was 2:32:59.
Reinier de Ridder def. Robert Whittaker
De Ridder’s four-fight UFC winning streak at middleweight is tied for the fourth-longest active streak in the division behind Dricus Du Plessis (nine), Caio Borralho (seven) and Anthony Hernandez (seven).
Whittaker is on his first losing skid since February 2014.
Whittaker fell to 14-5 since he moved up to the UFC middleweight division in November 2014.
Whittaker has suffered three of his seven UFC losses by decision.
Petr Yan def. Marcus McGhee
Petr Yan (19-5 MMA, 11-4 UFC) has earned eight of his 11 UFC victories by decision.
Marcus McGhee (10-2 MMA, 4-1 UFC) suffered the first decision loss of his career.
Shara Magomedov def. Marc-Andre Barriault
Shara Magomedov (16-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC) has earned three of his four UFC victories by decision.
Marc-Andre Barriault (17-10 MMA, 6-9 UFC) has suffered six of his 10 career losses by decision.
Asu Almabayev def. Jose Ochoa
Abu Almabayev (22-3 MMA, 5-1 UFC) has earned four of his five UFC victories by decision.
Jose Ochoa (8-2 MMA, 1-2 UFC) has suffered both of his career losses by decision.
Bogdan Guskov def. Nikita Krylov
Bogdan Guskov’s (18-3 MMA, 4-1 UFC) four-fight UFC winning streak at light heavyweight is the third-longest active streak in the division behind Carlos Ulberg (eight) and Azamat Murzakanov (five).
Guskov has earned all 18 of his career victories by stoppage.
Guskov’s four-fight UFC stoppage streak is tied for second-longest among active fighters in the company behind Jean Silva (five).
Nikita Krylov (29-11 MMA, 11-9 UFC) fell to 4-6 since he returned to the UFC for a second stint in September 2018.
Krylov has suffered nine of his 11 career losses by stoppage.
Bryce Mitchell def. Said Nurmagomedov
Bryce Mitchell (18-3 MMA, 9-3 UFC) was successful in his UFC bantamweight debut.
Mitchell has earned seven of his nine UFC victories by decision.
Said Nurmagomedov (18-5 MMA, 7-4 UFC) has suffered all five of his career losses by decision.
Muslim Salikhov def. Carlos Leal
Salikhov (22-5 MMA, 9-4 UFC) has earned 17 of his 22 career victories by stoppage. He’s finished six of his nine UFC wins by knockout.
Carlos Leal (22-7 MMA, 1-2 UFC) suffered the first knockout loss of his career.
Davey Grant def. Da’Mon Blackshear
Davey Grant (16-7 MMA, 8-6 UFC) has earned four of his eight UFC victories by decision.
Da’Mon Blackshear (17-8-1 MMA, 5-4-1 UFC) has suffered seven of his eight career losses by decision.
Tabatha Ricci def. Amanda Ribas.
Amanda Ribas’ (12-7 MMA, 7-6 UFC) three-fight losing skid is the longest of her career. She hasn’t earned a victory since November 2023.
Ribas has suffered five of her seven career losses by stoppage.
Billy Elekana def. Ibo Aslan
Ibo Aslan (14-3 MMA, 2-2 UFC) suffered the first decision loss of his career.
Steven Nguyen def. Mohammad Yahya
Nguyen (9-3 MMA, 1-1 UFC) has earned eight of his 10 career victories by stoppage.
Nguyen’s six knockdowns landed marked the single-fight record for a UFC bout.
Nguyen’s five knockdowns landed in Round 1 marked the single-round record for a UFC bout.
Nguyen became the second fighter in UFC history to land four or more knockdowns in a single round. Josh Emmett also accomplished the feat at UFC Fight Night 118.
Mohammad Yahya’s (12-6 MMA, 0-3 UFC) three-fight losing skid is the longest of his career. He hasn’t earned a victory since February 2023.
Yahya has suffered five of his six career losses by stoppage.
Martin Buday def. Marcus Buchecha
Martin Buday’s (16-2 MMA, 7-1 UFC) three-fight UFC winning streak at heavyweight is tied with Tom Aspinall for the second-longes active streak in the division behind Waldo Cortes-Acosta (five).
Buday has earned six of his seven UFC victories by decision.
Marcus Buchecha (5-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC) has suffered both of his career losses by decision.
UFC research analyst and live statistics producer Michael Carroll contributed to this story. Follow him on Twitter @MJCflipdascript.
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