This is the UFC 321 live blog for Umar Nurmagomedov vs. Mario Bautista, the main card bantamweight bout Saturday at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.
Nurmagomedov is currently No. 2 in the MMA Fighting Global Rankings, behind only champion Merab Dvalishvili. Bautista stands at No. 6.
Since suffering his first loss to Dvalishvili in a title fight this past January, Nurmagomedov (18-1) has remained on the sidelines. He now has the opportunity to earn a rematch if he can get pas the tricky Bautista. Prior to losing
to Dvalishvili, Nurmagomedov won his first six UFC fights, including a decision over Cory Sandhagen that led to his title shot at UFC 311.
Bautista (16-2) quietly built up his contender résumé, stringing together a few first-round submissions before graduating into bigger fights with names like Jose Aldo, Patchy Mix, and Ricky Simon. Each time, Bautista found a way to win on the scorecards, and he is now riding an eight-fight win streak. A title shot is all but guaranteed if he can upset Nurmagomedov.
Check out the UFC 321 live blog for Umar Nurmagomedov vs. Mario Bautista below.
Round 1:
Round 2:
Round 3:
