Nurmagomedov vs Shabliy

Who won Nurmagomedov vs Shabliy?

Usman Nurmagomedov beat Alexander Shabliy by unanimous decision in their 5 round contest during the main event of Bellator Champions Series, on Saturday 7th September 2024 at Pechanga Arena in San Diego.

The scorecards were announced as 50-45, 49-46, 49-46 in favor of the winner Usman Nurmagomedov.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 5 rounds in the Lightweight division, which meant the weight limit was 155 pounds (11.1 stone or 70.3 KG).

This contest was for the Bellator Lightweight championship.

Nurmagomedov vs Shabliy stats

Usman Nurmagomedov stepped into the octagon with an undefeated record of 18 wins, zero losses and 0 draws, 8 of those wins coming by the way of knock out and 6 by submission.

Alexander Shabliy made his way to the cage with a record of 24 wins, 3 losses and 0 draws, 12 of those wins coming by knock out and 7 by submission.

This was Usman Nurmagomedov's 8th fight in Bellator, having made his debut for the promotion in 2021. Alexander Shabliy marked his 6th fight for them, having made his own debut for the promotion in 2021.

Usman Nurmagomedov's Bellator record stood at 7-0-0, while Alexander Shabliy's came in at 5-1-0.

The stats suggested Shabliy had a slight advantage in power over Nurmagomedov, with a 50% knock out percentage over Nurmagomedov's 44%.

If the fight went to the ground, their records suggested Nurmagomedov had a slight advantage over Shabliy, with a 33% submission rate over Shabliy's 29%.

Usman Nurmagomedov was the younger man by 5 years, at 26 years old.

Nurmagomedov had a height advantage of 2 inches over Shabliy.

Nurmagomedov was the less experienced professional fighter, having had 9 fewer fights, and made his debut in 2017, 6 years and 5 months later than Shabliy, whose first professional fight was in 2010. He had fought 18 less professional rounds, 38 to Shabliy's 56.

Nurmagomedov vs Shabliy form

Shabliy had won all 5 of his most recent fights, stopping 2opponents and going the distance 3 times.

In his last fight leading up to this contest, he had won against Patricky Pitbull at Bellator 301 on 17th November 2023 by unanimous decision in their 5 round contest at Wintrust Arena, Chicago, United States.

Previous to that, he had beaten Tofiq Musayev at Bellator 292 on 10th March 2023 by knockout in the 3rd round at SAP Center, San Jose.

Going into that contest, he had defeated Brent Primus at Bellator 282 on 24th June 2022 by knockout in the 2nd round at Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville.

Before that, he was victorious against Bobby King at Bellator MMA on 3rd December 2021 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville.

He had won against Alfie Davis at Bellator 259 on 21st May 2021 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville.

Activity check

Nurmagomedov's last 2 fights had come over a period of 3 years, 6 months and 1 day, meaning he had been fighting on average every 1 year, 9 months and 2 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 4 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 2 rounds on average.

Shabliy's last 5 fights had come over a period of 3 years, 4 months and 12 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 8 months and 3 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 16 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 3.2 rounds on average.

What time did Nurmagomedov vs Shabliy start?

The fighters were expected to walk out at around 2:10 AM UTC , which was 10:10 PM EST or 7:10 PM PST on the West Coast of America, or 3:10 AM BST in the UK.

What were the odds on Nurmagomedov vs Shabliy?

Usman Nurmagomedov was a 1/5 (-500) favourite going into the contest, while Alexander Shabliy made his way into the ring at 13/4 (+330) with oddsmakers.