One fight at UFC Abu Dhabi was not like the others.
The UFC’s return to the UAE ended with former champions Reinier de Ridder and Petr Yan getting their hands raised in the main events of the evening.
De Ridder defeated Whittaker by unanimous decision and Yan called for a title shot after handing Marcus McGhee his first UFC loss.
The first finish of UFC Abu Dhabi came in the featherweight division, as Steven Nguyen broke a UFC knockdown record by dropping his opponent Mohammad Yahya eight times, six times officially.
Yahya survived two rounds with Nguyen, but the fight was stopped in between rounds because Yahya’s left eye was swollen shut with a massive hematoma forming around his eye. Referee Jason Herzog caught backlash for not stopping the fight sooner, preventing further damage for Yahya.
Luckily, Yahya isn’t in too bad condition following his doctor’s stoppage TKO loss.
UFC Abu Dhabi update on Mohammad Yahya
The UFC broadcast provided an update on Yahya’s health several fights after his bout.
According to John Gooden, Yahya didn’t suffer any facial fractures in his defeat to Nguyen.
The CT scans also came back negative for Yahya.
UFC CEO Dana White shared a picture of how Yahya looked post-fight.
Steven Nguyen reacts to breaking knockdown record
Steven Nguyen made history in his first UFC win.
Never have we seen a fighter get dropped six times in a round, that is, until Nguyen came along.
The Fortis MMA product weighed in on breaking the knockdown record in his post-fight interview.
“They told me that, I was like, wow,” Nguyen said (via Red Corner MMA).
“I wanna keep breaking records. That’s awesome. I couldn’t have done it without him, you know?” Nguyen said of his opponent Yahya.
“He was tough and I was never gonna stop. It could have been seven, eight times and I would have never stopped…”