Azamat Murzakanov gets the KO in the 2nd right as he appeared to be fatiguing a bit #UFCAbuDhabi pic.twitter.com/9J0v2ZRn9o
— The Underrated MMA Tribal Chief (@MMAUnderrated) August 3, 2024
Azamat Murzakanov made his most significant move yet in the Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight division, as he disposed of Alonzo Menifield with punches in the second round of their featured UFC on ABC 7 prelim on Saturday at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Menifield (15-5-1, 8-5-1 UFC) met his end 3:18 into Round 2.
In his first appearance in more than a year, Murzakanov (14-0, 4-0 UFC) picked up apart the Fortis MMA standout with a variety of weapons, uppercuts and knees chief among them. His handiwork resulted in a cut near Menifield’s left eye. Murzakanov stepped on the accelerator in the second round, absorbed the return fire and set his counterpart on skates with a slashing left uppercut. He let his heavy hands fly from there, drove Menifield to his back and drew the curtain with two devastating standing-to-ground punches.
Murzakanov, 35, has secured 10 of his 14 professional victories by knockout or technical knockout.
Meanwhile, Nova Uniao prospect Kaue Fernandes cut down ex-UAE Warriors champion Mohammad Yahya with punches in the first round of their lightweight encounter. Yahya (12-5, 0-2 UFC) bowed out 4:45 into Round 1, suffering his second setback in as many Octagon assignments.
Fernandes (9-2, 1-1 UFC) tortured the Emirati with a series of kicks to his lower lead leg. It left Yahya grotesquely swollen, compromised his mobility and forced him into desperation mode. Fernandes decked him with a two-punch volley, then followed up with punches and hammerfists to prompt the stoppage.
It was the sixth first-round finish of Fernandes’ career.
Further down the undercard, KHK MMA Team rep Shamil Gaziev rebounded from a March 2 defeat to Jairzinho Rozenstruik with a workmanlike unanimous decision over Don’Tale Mayes in a three-round heavyweight confrontation. Gaziev (13-1, 2-1 UFC) swept the scorecards with matching 30-27 marks from all three judges.
Related » UFC Abu Dhabi Round-by-Round Scoring
Mayes (11-7, 3-5 UFC) was a non-factor, outside of a few thudding right hands to the head and body. Gaziev deployed a merciless clinch, completed multiple takedowns, leaned on a suffocating top game and stayed busy enough with his ground-and-pound to avoid a restart. Mayes offered little resistance and looked very much like a fish out of water with his back glued to the canvas.
The 32-year-old Mayes has lost three of his past five bouts.
Finally, Allstars Training Center export Guram Kutateladze overcame an inauspicious start to post a unanimous decision over former Cage Warriors Fighting Championship titleholder Jordan Vucenic in a three-round lightweight clash. All three cageside judges scored it 29-28 for Kutateladze (13-4, 2-2 UFC).
A short-notice replacement for Abdul-Kareem Al-Selwady, Vucenic (13-3, 0-1 UFC) acquitted himself well in his Octagon debut. He floored Kutateladze with a sharp right hand in the first round, then swarmed with elbows and punches for a potential finish. However, Vucenic’s inability to close the deal came back to bite him. Kutateladze suffered visible damage below both eyes but slowly turned the tide in his favor across the final 10 minutes—he opened a cut with a standing elbow strike in the middle stanza—and did his best work when it mattered most in Round 3. There, he scrambled onto Vucenic’s back, secured his position with a body triangle and racked up points with ground-and-pound, all while bleeding valuable time off the clock.
The loss snapped a four-fight winning streak for Vucenic.
In other action, Sam Hughes (9-6, 4-5 UFC) eked out a split decision—27-30, 29-28, 29-28—against Victoria Dudakova (8-1, 2-1 UFC) in a three-round women’s strawweight scrap; Jai Herbert (13-5-1, 3-4-1 UFC) laid claim to a unanimous verdict over Rolando Bedoya (14-4, 0-3 UFC) in a three-round lightweight tilt, drawing 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28 marks on the scorecards; and Sedriques Dumas (10-2, 3-2 UFC) took a unanimous decision from Denis Tiuliulin (10-10, 1-5 UFC) in a three-round middleweight pairing, earning 29-28, 29-28 and 30-27 scores from the cageside judges.
