Shock Charge: The Return of Bullet Balls, Jan vs. the Dangerous American

On July 26, Abu Dhabi will host the UFC Fight Night tournament, where the main event will be the fight between Robert Whittaker and Rainier De Ridder. As part of this evening, 12 fights are planned, in which seven fighters from Russia and the countries of the former USSR will take part. Special attention, of course, is attracted by the fight of the ex-champion of the organization, Peter Yan.

Muslim Salikhov as Carlos Leal

The preliminary card will feature 41-year-old Muslim Salikhov, one of the most experienced fighters from Russia. In the last match, he effectively knocked out Kenan Song with a roundhouse kick to the head. Due to his base, wushu-sanda Salikhov is known as one of the few non-Chinese who have won the title of world champion in this sport.

His opponent is Brazilian Carlos Leal, who recently made his UFC debut. In the first meeting, he lost to Rinat Fakhretdinov in a controversial bout, according to all 16 MMA Decisions experts. In the second fight, Leal knocked out Alex Morono in the opening round.

Said Nurmagomedov as Bryce Mitchell

Said Nurmagomedov, Khabib's namesake, will have to close the prelims. Said shows unstable results: victories are replaced by defeats, although he often finishes fights ahead of schedule — he got four of the seven wins in the UFC in the first round. His last performance ended unsuccessfully for him — a loss to Vinicius Oliveira.

American Bryce Mitchell is going through an even more difficult period: he has lost three times in the last five meetings. The defeats from Ilya Topuria, Josh Emmett and Jean Silva were especially difficult — he lost two of the three fights by suffocation, and after Emmett's blow he was knocked out. Mitchell also performs ambiguously in the media: he declares that the Earth is flat, and publishes provocative videos on social networks.

Nikita Krylov – Bogdan Guskov

For Krylov, this match will be a comeback after a heavy defeat by Dominic Reyes. That fight was Krylov's first in two years, and now Nikita faces an equally serious challenge — a knockout from Uzbekistan, Bogdan Guskov.

Guskov, known by the nickname Tsarevich, got into the UFC thanks to a fight with Ozdemir on short notice, but lost. After that, he posted an impressive streak of three early wins, including over Ryan Spann and Zach Pauga. The fight with Krylov should show whether he is able to compete with the top of the light heavyweight division.

Asu Almabaev as Jose Ochoa

Kazakh Ace Almabayev will fight Peruvian Jose Ochoa in the light heavyweight division. Initially, Almabayev's opponent was supposed to be Ramazan Temirov from Uzbekistan, but he dropped out due to injury. Asu began his career in the UFC with four wins, including a spectacular success in a duel with Ode Osborn, for which he received a bonus for the best performance. However, after that, he lost to Manel Capa, which temporarily slowed down his path to the top of the division.

Ochoa, on the other hand, is just starting his UFC career — in two fights he lost to Kavanagh on points and effectively knocked out Cody Durden. All of the Peruvian's victories were early, seven of them by knockouts, which makes him a dangerous opponent, despite his little experience.

Sharabutdin Magomedov – Marc-Andre Barrio

Bullet Ball remains one of the brightest hopes of Russian MMA, despite losing to Michael Page. Before meeting the Briton, he demonstrated excellent striking technique and received UFC bonuses three times. His double backfist against Petrosian was the first such knockout in the history of the promotion. The fight with Marc-Andre Barrio is a chance to return to the winning streak.

Canadian Barrio is in crisis right now: in the last four fights, he lost three times, and won only Bruno Silva, who was soon fired from the UFC. Like Shara, Barrio prefers a stance, but his technique is significantly inferior to Magomedov's level.

Peter Yan – Marcus McGee

Many were waiting for Peter Yan to return, and although his opponent is not a big name, interest in the fight remains high. Yan had several options: a rematch with Dvalishvili or a fight with Umar Nurmagomedov, but for various reasons they did not take place. Wanting to return to the octagon as soon as possible, Yang agreed to a duel with Marcus McGee, who is ranked 13th in the rankings.

McGee got off to a great start in the UFC — four wins, three knockouts, each of which earned him a bonus for the performance of the evening. Although he was little known before his debut in the organization, he had the opportunity to study Yang, because he worked in Sean O'Malley's team before the fight with the Russian.

Robert Whittaker as Rainier De Ridder

The Australian will fight for the first time in 2025, last year Whittaker defeated Paulo Costa and Ikram Aliskerov, and then defeated Khamzat Chimaev. The fight against De Ridder will be Whittaker's third in a row in Arab countries: he fought with Aliskerov in Riyadh, and with Chimaev in Abu Dhabi. Robert is currently ranked fifth in the middleweight rankings, and over the past 10 years he has lost only four times in 18 fights — to Israel Adesanya (twice), Drikus Du Plessis and Chimaev.

Rainier De Ridder is a former double champion of the League ONE in 93 kg and 101 kg. He lost both titles to Anatoly Malykhin, losing both times without the slightest chance. It seemed that his career in the UFC would not be successful, but the Dutchman won three out of three fights, beating Gerald Mearshert and Kevin Holland, as well as knocking out Bo Nikal, one of the most prominent prospects in the UFC. If he defeats Whittaker, De Ridder will be one of the main contenders for the next title shot.