With his brother Khabib Nurmagomedov in his corner, [autotag]Abubakar Nurmagomedov[/autotag] picked up his first UFC victory Saturday.
At UFC 260, Nurmagomedov (15-3-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) dominated a fellow promotional sophomore, [autotag]Jared Gooden[/autotag], on the feet and on the ground en route to a unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27).
UFC 260 took place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The main card streamed on ESPN+ pay-per-view after prelims on ESPN/ESPN+.
After some fouls in Round 1, Nurmagomedov and Gooden (17-6 MMA, 0-2 UFC) each had their moments. It was a close round, but Nurmagomedov found slightly more success in the striking department. In Round 2, Nurmagomedov found success in the striking including one big punch on a clinch break that hurt Gooden.
Nurmagomedov found his takedown in Round 3 when he dragged Gooden to the canvas. From there, he remained in dominant top position. Gooden was unable to get up and the fight ended.
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The fight wasn’t just Nurmagomedov’s first UFC win, it was his first in-cage appearance since November 2019, when he was submitted by David Zawada. Gooden has come up short in both UFC outings. Prior to UFC 260, Gooden lost a unanimous decision to Alan Jouban this past November.
Up-to-the-minute UFC 260 results include:
- Abubakar Nurmagomedov def. Jared Gooden via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Michal Oleksiejczuk def. Modestas Bukauskas via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Omar Morales def. Shane Young via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Marc-Andre Barriault def. Abu Azaitar via TKO (punches) – Round 3, 4:56