UFC CEO Dana White had promised that the historic UFC Saudi Arabia Fight Night card last month would be the “greatest Fight Night Card” ever.” While the pull-out of Khamzat Chimaev from the main event threw cold water on those plans, he did seemingly come through on that promise for another, upcoming Fight Night card.

The lineup for the upcoming UFC Fight Night Abu Dhabi on August 3 has delighted fans with the sheer star power on the card. In the main event of the card, undefeated #10 ranked bantamweight Umar Nurmagomedov will take on #2 ranked Cory Sandhagen. Merab Dvalishvili, the #1 ranked 135-pounder is set to face champ Sean O’Malley sometime this year. After that, however, the title picture is wide open since the rest of the top ten are either fighters ‘Suga’ has already defeated or coming off of losses (or the legendary Jose Aldo, who is ranked #8 and as always in a league of his own).

This is why there is a very real possibility that the winner of Sandhagen-Nurmagomedov will be next in line for a bantamweight title shot. It would, of course, give Umar the opportunity to follow in his cousin, Khabib’s footsteps and make their clan the first family in UFC history to win more than one title.

In addition, the card will see the return of fan-favorite legend, Nick Diaz to action three years since his last UFC appearance in 2021. The Stockton native will take on exciting welterweight star Vicente Luque in the co-main event.

Also featured on the card is former interim lightweight champ and another fan-favorite, Tony Ferguson. ‘El Cucuy’ will fight Michael Chiesa in a welterweight bout, which could be potentially his last. The main card will also see bantamweight star Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera, fresh off his title bout loss to Sean O’Malley, try to bounce back in a main event bout against former flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo. Needless to say, the fans are stoked at the quality of the card, and have taken to social media to commend Dana White and co. for it.

Fans praise Dana White for stacked UFC Abu Dhabi card

One fan felt that the card was an absolute cracker, especially when compared to the other Fight Nights on offer this year: “11/10 Compared to what we have had this year, that card is amazing.” Another fan felt that while the card was pretty good, it wasn’t quite so out of this world as the previous commenter believes: “I don’t know if I give it that high but yeah it’s a very good card”

Another was eagerly anticipating the Sandhagen-Nurmagomedov main event bout that will potentially determine the future of the bantamweight division: “Can not wait for this Umar Sandhagen fight.” One Twitter user felt that a fight as big and as potentially exciting as Vera-Figueiredo is the third fight on the main card said everything one needed to know about it: “Vera vs Figgy not even being co-main is saying a lot for how good the card is!”

Another fan agreed with this assessment wholeheartedly and couldn’t help but exclaim at the quality of the card: “Damn, that IS a good main card.” Another fan, who had lost touch with the sport, was forced to admit that even he found the card ‘fantastic’: “I’m out of touch but like, that’s beyond fantastic.”

What are your thoughts on the card? Let us know in the comments below.