Rinat Fakhretdinov and Nicolas Dalby at the official weigh-in for UFC Saudi Arabia. Credit: Youtube/UFC
The lone welterweight bout at UFC Saudi Arabia on Saturday, June 22, featured Rinat Fakhretdinov taking on Nicolas Dalby.
Fakletdinov was unbeaten in his UFC career but was just coming off a draw with Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos, while Dalby is riding a four-fight win streak and could be in position to make the Top 15 with the winner.
The first round started with both fighters immediately standing up and attacking each other. Rinat landed multiple punch combinations right from the start. Dalby responded with some good leg kick and punch combinations before going into the clinch. The two fighters stopped attacking and got back into space where Rinat landed a hard left hook. Dalby was mixing up his kicks well, especially with a teep, and midway through the round Rinat landed some nice combinations before going deep with a single. Dalby showed good balance and managed to avoid a takedown attempt from Fakretdinov and clinch against the cage.
When the two men were back in space, Rinat landed a big right punch that took Nicholas down. Dalby got to his feet, but Rinat got going again, pressed him against the cage and got a takedown. Dalby regained his footing and got back to his feet. In the final seconds, Rinat landed a big knee to end the round.
As the second round began, both fighters quickly started attacking and trading strikes. Dalby again brought a wide variety of strikes. Rinatto landed a well-timed takedown as Dalby began to land aggressive punches. Nicholas quickly got to his feet and went for a body lock takedown.
Halfway through the round, both fighters broke out of the clinch and started attacking. Dalby again landed some nice combinations with kicks to the body and head. With a minute left in the round, Dalby landed a big head kick. Rinatto fought back with a double leg takedown, pinning Nicholas against the cage and pinning him down on his hips. As Dalby got to his feet, Rinatto landed some short punches to end the round.
The final round began with Rinat having success standing up with his boxing, then going for a takedown. Dalby defended a takedown attempt by Rinat Fakhreddinov, who had him pressed up against the cage. Nicholas was able to escape for a moment, but was again successfully taken to the ground. With two minutes left in the round, Dalby was able to get to his feet, but was quickly taken down again. However, in a scramble, Dalby took control on the ground and got back to his feet.
With about 80 seconds left in the bout, you could see both fighters giving it their all, with Rinatto’s takedown attempts and pressure being relentless. In the final seconds of the bout, both fighters traded punches hard until the final bell rang, with Dalby landing a few good punches as the crowd cheered.
OFFICIAL DECISION: Rinat Fakretdinov defeats Nicolas Dalby via split decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
