UFC Abu Dhabi Adds Asu Almabayev vs. Ramazonbek Temirov at Flyweight

A pair of flyweights from the Commonwealth of Independent States will settle things in the Octagon this July.

The first matchup for the Ultimate Fighting Championship event in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, is now official. Kazakhstani outlet Sportilinet first broke the news on Thursday that Asu Almabayev (21-3) would be meeting Ramazonbek Temirov (19-3) in a significant clash at 125 pounds. Temirov confirmed the fight on Instagram not long after its announcement. This fight is set to go down in the confines of the Etihad Arena at a currently unnumbered UFC on ABC showcase on July 26.

Kazakhstan’s Almabayev crashed into the promotion in 2023 with a long win streak in tow, and he put Ode Osbourne away in the second round at UFC on ESPN 50 to announce himself. A trio of decision over C.J. Vergara, Jose Johnson and Matheus Nicolau placed him in contention with a number next to his name. In a high-stakes contest against Manel Kape in March, Almabayev ran out of steam. “Zulfikhar” turned the other direction and ran away from Kape after Kape battered him with a series of punches and knees, forcing referee Mike Beltran to call the fight off due to the fighter’s physical surrender.

Unlike Almabayev, Temirov’s own consecutive win stretch remains intact, victor in his last 11 fights including a pair of triumphs in the promotion. With two dramatic first-round knockouts inside of the Rizin Fighting Federation in 2023, Temirov found his way to the UFC and debuted by prompting busting up Vergara in a bit over half a round. In his sophomore effort, the Uzbekistan native won on the scorecards against Charles Johnson, ultimately concluding a five-fight first-round knockout streak in the process.Robert Whittaker vs Reinier de Ridder Nikita Krylov vs Bogdan Guskov Ibo Aslan vs Billy Elekana Sharabutdin Magomedov vs Marc-Andre Barriault