ABU DHABI – Tagir Ulanbekov beat Bruno by unanimous decision Saturday to open up the preliminary card at UFC on ESPN+ 37 from Flash Forum on Yas Island.
Take a look inside the fight with Ulanbekov, a teammate of UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, who pushed his overall winning streak to four.
Result: Tagir Ulanbekov def. Bruno Silva via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Updated records: Tagir Ulanbekov (11-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC), Bruno Silva (10-6-2 MMA, 0-2 UFC)
Key stat: Silva narrowly edged Ulanbekov in significant strikes 47-46.
Ulanbekov on being surprised by the fight
“When I got inside of the cage, I thought it was going to be an easy fight. Well, not easy but definitely much easier than it was. There was a lot of pressure. It is what it is.”
Ulanbekov on feeling a lot pressure to win
“It was definitely a lot of pressure. I have my teammates fighting in upcoming weeks here, so I had to make sure I win to motivate them. So it was a lot of pressure. I hope my fight will motivate my teammates. I think it was the hardest fight in my career to date.”
Ulanbekov on what he wants next
“I’ll most likely return in 20201, because I had a long camp. And I want to dedicate this victory in the name of Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov.”
To hear more from Ulanbekov, check out the video of the full post-fight interview above.