Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos beat Abubakar Nurmagomedov at UFC Vegas 74. dos Santos and Nurmagomedov opened the main card for UFC Fight Night: Kara-France vs Albazi. The pair met in a three-round welterweight matchup that went the distance. At the end of the contest, the judges gave a split decision win to the Brazilian.

Official decision: Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos, winner by split decision

Both fighters had a grueling three rounds and had to tough it out at times. With the win dos Santos is now on a two-fight win streak and snapped his opponent’s two-fight streak.

36-year-old dos Santos came into UFC Vegas with a 9-3  UFC record. He was 3-2 in his last five and hadn’t fought since UFC 267 in October 2021. The Brazilian was on a sabbatical after struggling to hit a consistent run of form since his loss to Li Jingliang in 2019. Further, he also had to deal with a year-long suspension from USADA after a failed drug test owing to tainted supplements.

Khabib Nurmagomedov’s cousin Abubakar Nurmagomedov welcomed ‘Capoeira’ to the octagon after the year-long layoff. The 33-year-old had a 2-1 UFC record heading into UFC Vegas 74. Nurmagomedov was riding a 2-fight win streak and hoped to make it three against the returning Brazilian.

dos Santos vs. Nurmagomedov: An overview

Abubakar Nurmagomedov started strong against Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos at UFC Vegas 74. He caught dos Santos early with some solid shots before dos Santos retreated to the fence. The Brazilian recovered from the initial shock and defended himself well against the fence. Referee Dan Miragliotta had to separate the fighters and reset the affair after a lack of action.

dos Santos had a much stronger response in the second round. His shots found their home on the opponent’s face forcing the Russian to shoot for takedowns. The Brazilian defended those very well and held his own in the clinch. However, he conceded a takedown at the end of the round.

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dos Santos and Nurmagomedov had a competitive third round, The Brazilian had the momentum, landing shots, and defending takedowns. Although, late in the round, the Russian almost got a rear naked choke in on the veteran.

Fans react to dos Santos vs Nurmagomedov at UFC Vegas 74

Fans on Twitter had some interesting reactions to the UFC Vegas 74 opener. Not everyone agreed with the decision. Welterweight star Belal Muhammad scored the fight for Nurmagomedov.

Meanwhile, bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling scored it for dos Santos.

There was also an incident after the fight. The Brazilian threw a late strike after the bell and Nurmagomedov slapped him for it. Fortunately, the situation did not escalate.

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What did you guys think of the fight? Let us know in the comments below.