Abdullaev Reportedly Gets Santos for UFC Debut in Riyadh

Contender Series winners rarely wait long for a first UFC fight, and Akbar Abdullaev looks like no exception. A report says the UFC has pointed him toward a December card against another top prospect.

A debut set for Riyadh

The report comes from Ag.Fight. It says Abdullaev's promotional debut is in the works for December 5 in Riyadh, at UFC Saudi Arabia. His opponent would be Mairon Santos. Nothing here confirms it officially, so the pairing remains a report for now.

The card is also said to include the returns of two other prospects, Islam Dulatov and Hecher Sosa. It is headlined by a middleweight bout between former titleholder Israel Adesanya and Shara "Bullet" Magomedov.

How Abdullaev got the contract

Abdullaev earned his UFC deal earlier this year on Dana White's Contender Series, the showcase where the UFC decides which prospects deserve a contract. He did it with a one-punch knockout. After that, White called him one of the "greatest talents" in the history of the series.

Before the UFC, Abdullaev was a standout in ONE Championship. He is described as a potentially dangerous lightweight, and he wants a crack at a top contender in the division.

Santos moves up to lightweight

Santos is expected to make a full-time move to lightweight. The move follows a missed weight: he came in over the featherweight limit before his most recent fight, against Muhammad Naimov last year. He still won that fight by unanimous decision.

That result kept him unbeaten in his four-fight UFC run. His path started in August 2024, when he knocked out Kaan Ofli to win the featherweight title of The Ultimate Fighter 32. He then beat Sodiq Yusuff and Francis Marshall before facing Naimov.

Our View

Putting two prospects together looks like a real test for both. Santos is also adjusting to a new weight class, which adds a variable. An official UFC announcement would settle the date and the opponent.

Source: BJPenn.com