Shara Bullet and More Fights Added to UFC Abu Dhabi Card

The fight card for UFC Abu Dhabi in July is beginning to take shape with several new bouts announced.

Following the recent confirmation that former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker will face former ONE two-division champion Reinier de Ridder in the main event at the Etihad Arena, additional matchups are being added to the card.

Popular middleweight contender Shara “Bullet” Magomedov is scheduled to make his return to the Octagon against Marc-Andre Barriault in Abu Dhabi.

Magomedov looks to get back to winning ways after suffering his first career loss in the UFC against highly-touted striker Michael “Venom” Page. Barriault, on the other hand, is coming off an impressive knockout victory over Bruno Silva at UFC 315 last weekend.

In addition to the Magomedov vs. Barriault clash, the UFC has also revealed three other fights for the event: a light heavyweight bout between ranked fighters Nikita Krylov (30-10) and Bogdan Guskov (17-3), a ranked flyweight contest featuring Asu Almabayev (21-3) and Ramazan Temirov (19-3), and a light heavyweight matchup between Ibo Aslan (14-2) and Billy Elekana (7-2).

Nikita Krylov, currently ranked No. 10 in the light heavyweight division, aims to bounce back from a first-round knockout defeat to Dominick Reyes at UFC 314 in April. Bogdan Guskov, ranked No. 14, is riding a three-fight winning streak since his UFC debut loss, most recently submitting Billy Elekena at UFC 311 in January.

Both Asu Almabayev and Ramazan Temirov last competed at UFC Vegas 103 in March, experiencing contrasting results. The No. 8-ranked Almabayev was stopped by Manel Kape in the main event, ending his four-fight winning streak in the UFC. Conversely, Temirov earned a unanimous decision victory over Charles Johnson in the opening fight of the evening, securing him the No. 13 position in the flyweight rankings.

Ibo Aslan, who earned a UFC contract through the Contender Series in 2023, made a strong impression with knockout wins in his first two appearances. However, his momentum was halted in his latest fight when he was submitted by Ion Cutelaba. Billy Elekana, a former PFL fighter, lost his UFC debut to Bogdan Guskov.

The UFC Abu Dhabi event is scheduled to take place on July 26 at the Etihad Arena.