UFC Tonight: What Time Does The UFC Abu Dhabi Fight Card Start?
The UFC Abu Dhabi fight card goes down today at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. The main event of the UFC Fight Night card features a middleweight matchup between former UFC champion Robert Whittaker and the fast-rising contender Reinier de Ridder. The co-main event of the UFC on ABC card is a bantamweight bout between ex-UFC champ Petr Yan and the surging Marcus McGhee.
The UFC Abu Dhabi main card airs on ABC following prelims on ESPN.
Below, we look at details for the top two fight and the start time for each portion of the UFC Abu Dhabi fight card.
UFC Abu Dhabi Fight Card: Date, Time, Location, How To Watch Or Stream
Date: Saturday, July 26, 2025
Location: Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, UAE
Main Card Start Time: 3:00 p.m. ET on ABC
Preliminary Card Start Time: Noon ET on ESPN, ESPN+
UFC Abu Dhabi Fight Card: Main Card
Robert Whittaker vs. Reinier de Ridder - Middleweight
Petr Yan vs. Marcus McGhee - Bantamweight
Sharabutdin Magomedov vs. Marc-André Barriault - Middleweight
Asu Almabayev vs. Jose Ochoa - Flyweight
Nikita Krylov vs. Bogdan Guskov - Light heavyweight
UFC Abu Dhabi Fight Card: Preliminary Card
Bryce Mitchell vs. Said Nurmagomedov - Bantamweight
Muslim Salikhov vs. Carlos Leal Miranda - Welterweight
Davey Grant vs. Da'Mon Blackshear - Bantamweight
Amanda Ribas vs. Tabatha Ricci - Strawweight
İbo Aslan vs. Billy Elekana - Light heavyweight
Mohammad Yahya vs. Steven Nguyen - Featherweight
Martin Buday vs. Marcus Buchecha - Heavyweight
UFC Abu Dhabi Fight Card Main Event Preview: Robert Whittaker Vs. Reinier De Ridder
ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - JULY 25: (L-R) Opponents Robert Whittaker of New Zealand and ... More Reinier de Ridder of The Netherlands face off during the UFC Fight Night ceremonial weigh-in at Etihad Arena on July 25, 2025 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Mike Roach/Zuffa LLC)
Whittaker (26-8) is the No. 5 fighter in the official UFC middleweight rankings. Whittaker is 15-4 with the UFC since June 2014. His only losses have come to Israel Adesanya, Dricus du Plessis, and Khamzat Chimaev. Adesanya is a former UFC middleweight champ. Du Plessis is the current UFC 185-pound champion, and Chimaev is scheduled to face Du Plessis in a title fight at UFC 319 in August. In short, the 34-year-old is the gate keeper to the elite of the division.
Whittaker is coming off a nasty submission loss to Chimaev at UFC 308 in October 2024.
De Ridder (20-2) has been climbing the UFC middleweight ladder since he joined the promotion after holding the ONE middleweight and light heavyweight titles. The 34-year-old is No. 13 in the UFC 185-pound division. He is 3-0 with the promotion with stoppage wins over Gerald Meerschaert, Kevin Holland and Bo Nickal. His win over Nickal was his most recent victory, coming in May of this year.
When the betting odds opened for this matchup, Whittaker was a -145 favorite over the +120 De Ridder. That betting line has held.
With fight night approaching, Whittaker has picked up 51 percent of the bets, while De Ridder has earned 54 percent of the handle.
There are a couple of burning questions about this fight to ponder before making a pick. Has a career of facing the best of the best at middleweight caught up with Robert Whittaker leading to a decline in his skills? Is Reinier de Ridder ready to face someone as well-rounded as Robert Whittaker?
We won't know the answers to those questions until after Saturday's fight. What we do know is that Whittaker is one of the best middleweight fighters in the history of the UFC and that he is the more well-rounded fighter in this matchup.
The betting pick is Whittaker to beat De Ridder via decision.
UFC Abu Dhabi Fight Card Co-Main Event Preview: Petr Yan Vs. Marcus McGhee
ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - JULY 25: (L-R) Opponents Petr Yan of Russia and Marcus McGhee face ... More off during the UFC Fight Night ceremonial weigh-in at Etihad Arena on July 25, 2025 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)
Former UFC bantamweight champion Petr Yan looks to hold onto his No. 3 ranking when he faces the No. 12 ranked Marcus McGhee in the co-main event of Saturday's UFC Abu Dhabi fight card.
Yan is 3-4 dating back to his March 2021 title-losing DQ setback to Aljamain Sterling. However, the ex-champ has back-to-back wins heading into Saturday's fight card. As for McGhee, he is 4-0 in the UFC and looking to make a move against a former titleholder.
When the betting line opened for this 135-pound scrap, Yan was a -325 favorite over the +275 McGhee, those odds have shifted. Today, Yan is listed at -400, while McGhee is +310.
McGhee has 68 percent of the bets for this contest, while 52 percent of the money is on Yan.
McGhee has struggled with leg kicks, expect Yan to look to land those kicks as soon as this matchup begins. The pick is Yan to win via decision.
UFC Abu Dhabi Fight Card Preview: Shara Magomedov Vs. Marc-André Barriault
ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - JULY 25: (L-R) Opponents Shara Magomedov of Russia and Marc-Andre ... More Barriault of Canada face off during the UFC Fight Night ceremonial weigh-in at Etihad Arena on July 25, 2025 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)
We have a middleweight matchup between two fighters trying to find a spot in the division. In one corner we have Shara Magomedov, who the UFC seems to favor, but who had been handed some friendly matchmaking in his first four UFC fights. He won all of those bouts, with two victories coming via knockout. In his most recent outing, Magomedov dropped a decision to the more experienced Michael 'Venom' Page. As for Barriault, a member of the UFC since 2019, he has never won more than two fights in a row with the promotion. Barriault is coming off a May knockout win over Bruno Silva.
When the betting odds opened for this fight, Magomedov was a massive -455 favorite over the +340 Barriault. That line has shifted more in favor of Magomedov. Today, he is listed at -650, while Barriault is +475.
With the lopsided odds, 59 percent of the bets have been on Barriault, but even with the lines being what they are, Magomedov has 79 percent of the bets.
Magomedov is the better overall striker in this contest. With that, look for Magomedov, who also has the better chin, to win. Barriault has been knocked out in his past two losses, look for Magomedov to make that three on Saturday.
UFC Abu Dhabi Fight Card Preview: Betting Odds, Line Movement And Predictions - Asu Almabayev Vs. Jose Ochoa
ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - JULY 25: (L-R) Opponents Asu Almabayev of Kazakstan and Jose Ochoa ... More of Peru face off during the UFC Fight Night ceremonial weigh-in at Etihad Arena on July 25, 2025 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)
The flyweight matchup between Asu Almabayev and Jose Ochoa came together late. Almabayev was initially booked against Ramazan Temirov, but a failed drug test forced Temirov off the card.
When the betting line opened for this late replacement contest, it was a pick 'em with both fighters listed at -110. Today, it's still a pick 'em, but Almabayev is -115 to Ochoa's -105.
Almabayev has 74 percent of the bets and 51 percent of the handle.
The pick is Almabayev to win via decision.
UFC Abu Dhabi Fight Card Preview: Betting Odds, Line Movement And Predictions - Nikita Krylov Vs. Bogdan Guskov
ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - JULY 25: (L-R) Opponents Nikita Krylov of Ukraine and Bogdan ... More Guskov of Uzbekistan face off during the UFC Fight Night ceremonial weigh-in at Etihad Arena on July 25, 2025 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)
Opening the UFC Abu Dhabi main card is a light heavyweight matchup between Nikita Krylov and Bogdan Guskov. Both men are ranked inside the top 15 of the 205-pound division, with Krylov at No. 10 and Guskov at No. 13.
When the betting line opened, Krylov was -185 to Guskov's +150. Today, Krylov is -200 and Guskov is listed at +165.
Bettors are favoring Guskov, who has earned 79 percent of the bets and 81 percent of the handle.
The pick is Guskov to win via knockout.
*Odds via BetMGM
Stay tuned for more coverage from the UFC Abu Dhabi fight card. Including live UFC Abu Dhabi results, reactions, recaps and video highlights during tonight's event.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
Lerone Murphy explains taking short-notice fight vs. Aaron Pico at UFC 319
Despite the far from ideal circumstances, Lerone Murphy sees incentive in welcoming Aaron Pico to the UFC. Pico (13-4 MMA, 0-0 UFC) was originally scheduled to make his octagon debut in this past Saturday's UFC on ABC 9 co-main event against Movsar Evloev (19-0 MMA, 9-0 UFC) in Abu Dhabi, but the bout was scrapped after Evloev withdrew. Now it's Murphy (16-0-1 MMA, 8-0-1 UFC) who will fight Pico instead at UFC 319 on Aug. 16 in Chicago. Not only is the unbeaten featherweight contender putting his ranking on the line, he's doing it on on three weeks' notice. "The game's the game," Murphy explained on "The Ariel Helwani Show." "From a business perspective, people would probably have said, 'You shouldn't take the fight. Sit out, and wait for a big opportunity.' But, it's like for me, I think this is a big opportunity. I just want to fight. I'm not getting no younger. I want to stay active, I want to fight. Who's to say when everybody else is going to be ready to fight? "Everybody seems to get surgery and whatnot. So, do I want to sit out until December, November? No, I don't. I'm ready to go now. So, whoever, whenever. If I believe I can be champion, I've got to be able to fight anybody in any given moment, and that's it for me. I know it's a tough fight, I know it's a dangerous fight. Big risk, big reward. I'm happy, and I'm excited." Murphy has climbed to the No. 6 spot in the UFC's featherweight rankings, which is why he took this fight. "It's a big opportunity for me, now in the position I'm in, to make some noise and try to get that No. 1 spot," Murphy said. "Because a fighter like me, who's quiet and whatnot, I've got to take these chances. They're not going to give me nothing for free."
USA Today
3 hours ago
- USA Today
Dan Hooker not keen on Paddy Pimblett next: 'I think someone's sh*t, then I fight sh*t'
Dan Hooker is seeking the toughest fight possible for his UFC return. Hooker (24-12 MMA, 14-8 UFC) called out Arman Tsarukyan (22-3 MMA, 9-2 UFC) and Charles Oliveira for the November pay-per-view card in a series of tweets. He broke down the landscape at lightweight, and why he's zoning in on Tsarukyan, who withdrew from his title fight against Islam Makhachev at UFC 311 in January. "I think they're going to do (Max) Holloway-Oliveira (and) they're going to do (Justin) Gaethje for the title," Hooker told Submission Radio. "That leaves Arman in the lurch. He's stuck fighting me, brother. He's got to fight me to get back in the mix and to get a title shot. And that's always the fight I want, and not because he's a prick and I hate him, but because I genuinely think that he's the harder fight." Hooker was asked about Paddy Pimblett (22-4 MMA, 7-0 UFC), but "The Hangman" took a dig at him when explaining why he'd rather fight Tsarukyan. "I don't think the guy's that good," Hooker said of Pimblett. "And it brings out the best of me when I fight an actual good fighter. Like, when they give me someone that I think I can beat, or I think someone's sh*t, then I fight sh*t. Like, my mind subconsciously relaxes because I think they're sh*t, and then I do sh*t, then they beat me. "But when I fight a guy that I think could kick my ass, then my subconscious goes, 'Oh,sh*t, we might get our ass kicked.' Then I wake up so, I actually end up fighting really well. So, I'd rather just fight the best guy so I actually perform well."
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Video: UFC on ESPN 71 media day live stream from Las Vegas (1:30 p.m. ET)
LAS VEGAS – UFC on ESPN 71 takes place Saturday at UFC Apex with a card that airs on ESPN and ESPN+. Before fight night arrives, though, notable athletes from the main card and preliminary are scheduled to speak to reporters Wednesday at media day, and MMA Junkie will have a live stream beginning at 1:30 p.m. ET/10:30 a.m. PT. That includes headliners Tatsuro Taira (16-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) and HyunSung Park (10-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC), who meet in a flyweight bout. If you happen to miss any of the individual sessions on the live stream, check below for the archived videos of each media day. Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos Neil Magny Nora Cornolle Karol Rosa Estaban Ribovics Elves Brener Chris Duncan Mateusz Rebecki HyunSung Park Tatsuro Taira This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Live stream: UFC Vegas 108 media day interviews (1:30 p.m. ET)
