UFC 280: Oliveira vs Makhachev prelims results, video highlights, analysis –

Stay up to date with what’s happening today with the UFC 280 preliminary card, which is going down from the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, U.A.E.

There are seven scheduled bouts on this part of the docket, with the featured preliminary matchup taking place between top flight welterweights Belal Muhammad (#5) and Sean Brady (#8). Before that, the middleweight division is getting a clash in styles as the savvy striker in Makhmud Muradov will be throwing down with a groovy grappler in Caio Borralho.

The preliminary bouts begin at an extra early 10:30am ET/7:00am, PT, which can be streamed on ESPN+. The PPV main card is slated for 2:00pm ET/11:00am PT, and can be purchased on ESPN+.

Prelims:

Belal Muhammad def. Sean Brady by TKO at 4:47 of round 2: Welterweight

Despite Muhammad’s knack for wrestling and Brady’s love for grappling, the opening round here was all standup. It was a bit of a sticky round as the fighters were looking get their range. Muhammad brought a lot of forward pressure and was forcing Brady to move backwards. Brady got ahead on the strike count, but by the end of the round, Muhammad was launching lengthy combos with Brady against the fence.

The kickboxing battle continued on into the second round. Whenever Brady did shoot for the takedown, Muhammad was able to stuff them to remain standing. The pressure of Muhammad remained consistent, and started to pile up. His jab kept jousting the nose of Brady, and kept pushing him backwards. Once Muhammad realized that Brady was hurt, he unloaded the gas tank and kept delivering shot after shot until he got the standing TKO. What a performance to extend his unbeaten streak to nine straight.

Caio Borralho def. Makhmud Muradov by unanimous decision (30-27 x2, 29-28): Middleweight

Borralho took the center right away, with Muradov looking to launch counters. The fighters would come together in what felt like car crashes, exploding in and amplifying their punching power. Borralho then exploded in with a takedown, and began controlling Muradov from full mount. He lost position as he went for an armbar, but still threatened with subs and up kicks from his back. The referee warned Muradov several times about his fingers getting dangerously close to the eyes of Borralho. To Muradov’s credit, he did finish the round on top.

Muradov shot in for a takedown in the second act, but Borralho used a guillotine attempt to reverse into top position. From there, Caio took full mount, but wasn’t able to maintain the position as Muradov reversed him. Muradov didn’t inflict much damage with the position, but he did rack up some control time for himself.

Muradov shot in for another takedown in the third round, but Borralho used another guillotine attempt to sweep on top and right into full mount. With him being much more positionally stingy this time, it was Borralho’s turn to bag some control time. Muradov did not return to his feet until after the final horn sounded.

Nikita Krylov def. Volkan Oezdemir by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28 x2): Light Heavyweight

There was zero feeling out to get this one going! Oezdemir went after Krylov with a frenzied flurry of punches, with a lot of the blows finding their mark. Krylov started to wrestle, which slowed down the pace and bought himself some time to recover. Back in open space, Krylov found a way to sting Oezdemir with some punches of his own. Krylov got on top, went to the back, and briefly locked up n RNC. Oezdemir then got on top and made Krylov work back to his feet. What a round!

Krylov earned himself a takedown in the second round to get on top of Oezdemir. After a little lull, Oezdemir worked to get back to his feet, but Krylov stayed attached. It wasn’t until the midpoint of the round that Oezdemir was able to break free into open space. Not long after that, Krylov used his strikes to set up another entry to the takedown to put Oezdemir on the floor again.

The takedown was there again for Krylov in the third round. Oezdemir found himself on his back again, without doing anything to get himself back to his feet. The referee wasn’t thrilled with the output of Krylov’s ground work, so he stood the fighters back up. Krylov just went right back to using his strikes to set up his takedown. This time, Krylov dished out enough ground and pound to avoid a standup and finish up the round in dominant fashion.

Abubakar Nurmagomedov def. Gadzhi Omargadzhiev by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28 x2): Welterweight

Nurmagomedov shot in right away for a takedown, but Omargadzhiev stuffed it and delivered a couple of knees. It was actually Omargadzhiev who hit a takedown, but lost position when he jumped on a guillotine. From there Nurmagomedov stayed on top until the bell.

Nurmagomedov changed levels within the first minute of the second round. As Omargadzhiev was standing up, Nurmagomedov kneed him in the head while he was still down. There was a break in the action, but the referee did not deduct a point for the infraction. The match resumed and Nurmagomedov went right back to the takedown. We got some pretty cool scrambles, but Nurmagomedov pretty much stayed a step ahead of Omargadzhiev for the rest of the round.

The final frame saw both fighters battle fatigue. The first part of the round saw a labored back and forth on the feet, followed by the gassed combatants jockeying for position in the grappling department. Nurmagomedov did land a nice right hand that looked like it stung Omargadzhiev in the closing moments.

Armen Petrosyan def. AJ Dobson by unanimous decision (30-27 x3): Middleweight

The middleweights seemed content to stand and trade strikes for the bulk of the first round. Petrosyan was pretty light on his feet, and was doing the better job of controlling the range and mixing up his attacks. Dobson didn’t grab a takedown until inside of the final minute, and even then he wasn’t able to control Petrosyan on the ground.

Petrosyan continued to be the more polished striker in the second round. Dobson again wasn’t able to get a takedown until late in the round, and again he was unsuccessful at controlling Petrosyan for any meaningful amount of time. When Petrosyan stood up from the takedown, he seemed to step in a wonky way that altered the way he was standing.

To begin the second stanza, Petrosyan appeared to be recovered from whatever knee issue he was dealing with at the end of the second round. The volume continued to be there for Petrosyan, with Dobson throwing, but not being as active with his offense.

Muhammad Mokaev def. Malcolm Gordon by submission (armbar) at 4:26 of round 3: Flyweight

Gordon went right after Mokaev, pushing the pace and letting his strikes go. Mokaev weathered the early storm and hit a takedown to slow things down. He didn’t throw many strikes, but he threatened with a few chokes and controlled Gordon for the remainder of the round.

Mokaev opened the second stanza with some flashy kicks, and as Gordon exploded forward with a flurry, Muhammad exploded into his takedown. After being controlled for some time, Gordon hit a sweep, but landed right into a triangle. Gordon was able to escape, and even worked his way to the back to finish up the round by applying a rear-naked choke.

Mokaev hit an almost instant takedown to start the final frame. It wasn’t long before Gordon scrambled out and made his way to the back again. Gordon has his chance at top position, but Mokaev was able to maneuver back on top and back into a position of dominating his opponent. Just as it appeared that this one was going to go the distance, Mokaev attacked with an armbar from the back, and Gordon was forced to tap. The undefeated hype train of Muhammad is alive and well!

Karol Rosa def. Lina Lansberg by majority decision (29-27 x2, 28-28): (W) Bantamweight

A big right hand from Lansberg dropped Rosa early in the fight. From there, Lansberg worked her clinch game against the cage, but Rosa ended up snagging a takedown. Rosa did a lot of controlling, not allowing Lansberg to return to her feet that round.

Rosa realized an early and easy takedown to begin the second act. As Lansberg went to stand up, Rosa illegally kneed her in the face. After a little break, the referee elected to deduct a point. The fight resumed and Rosa went right back to the takedown.

The third round spent a lot of time in the clinch. The fighters jockeyed for position, taking turns pressing the other against the fence. With just over a minute to go, Rosa started to let her hands go and tagged Lansberg with a barrage of knuckles. Lansberg returned some volume back, but her strikes didn’t seem to have the same sort of sting on them.