UFC featherweight Mohammad Yahya walked away with a loss and a heavily compromised eye at UFC Abu Dhabi.
The UFC Abu Dhabi prelims featured one of the most horrific eye injuries you’ll see in MMA during a featherweight bout between Mohammad Yahya and Steven Nguyen.
Yahya, a hometown hero in Abu Dhabi, squared off with two-time Dana White’s Contender Series standout Nguyen during the UFC Abu Dhabi prelims. The fight ended up setting a record at Yahya’s expense, as Nguyen put on a dominant performance.
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Steven Nguyen makes UFC Abu Dhabi’s rival’s eye nearly explode in dominant win
Nguyen put on a boxing clinic as he earned six knockdowns total on Yahya for as long as the fight lasted, including five in the first round. The six total knockdowns (per UFC Stats) set a promotional record for the most in a single fight.
As Yahya repeatedly hit the deck, Nguyen didn’t let off his ferocious pace over two full rounds of action. Referee Jason Herzog waved off the fight at the end of Round 2 as Yahya’s orbital swelled up like a balloon; a horrific sight for fans watching the action.
UFC fans were horrified at Yahya’s swollen orbital after his wild prelims bout at UFC Abu Dhabi.
“Ouch!” one fan wrote on X.
“No more eye,” another said.
“Turned him to Mojo Jojo.”
“Don’t you get the urge to pop it…lol.”
“The eye is gone.”
“Grey matter was begging the ref to stop the fight at the end of the first round.”
“Why is he still standing there? Get his a** to the hospital.”
“U guys still want to become a fighter?”
“Yo that looks pretty wild!! Buddies face is about to bust!!”
“Omg! Fighting is terrible.”
As of this writing, Yahya’s latest medical status hasn’t been announced by the promotion. Yahya was searching for his first UFC victory after back-to-back defeats to begin his promotional tenure.
Meanwhile, Nguyen bounced back following a UFC debut loss to Jarno Errens in March 2024. He won back-to-back fights on DWCS in 2021 and 2023, including a contract-securing knockout of AJ Cunningham.
UFC Abu Dhabi standout shared a cryptic prediction for upcoming title fight
Before the action kicked off at UFC Abu Dhabi, one of the card’s biggest stars shared a cold hypothesis for how the upcoming UFC 319 headliner between Dricus du Plessis and Khamzat Chimaev will play out. At his media day press conference, Shara Magomedov predicted a quick victory for the undefeated Chimaev, giving the champion Du Plessis little chances at retaining his belt.
Du Plessis returns at UFC 319 after defeating Sean Strickland in a middleweight title rematch earlier this year at UFC 312. In addition to his victory over Strickland, du Plessis defeated former titleholder Israel Adesanya in his first middleweight title defense last year at UFC 305.
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