ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES – UAE Warriors icked-off its 2026 schedule with an evening of high drama and a fair bit of controversy. With seven stoppages and a few razor-thin split decisions there were several outstanding contests on the card that have now set a tone of violent intent for what is shaping-up to be a year of unparalleled action!
After the media frenzy of the fight week build-up, the main event between Tom Breese 20-8 and Caio Machado 12-4 lasted just two minutes after the latter found himself taken down by the British grappling specialist. But to the amazement of the crowd, the Brazilian swept his opponent to rain down a series of hellacious ground and pound strikes, some of which seemed to push the boundaries of legality in their placement on the rear of Breese’s cranium. After picking his shots more cleanly, Machado’s onslaught continued to rain down forcing the referee to call the bout to the raucous cheers of the packed-out crowd. Instead of calling for the belt, Caio Machado staked a belief that his current form of stoppages warranted a second crack at the UFC’s 205lb division.
Explosive finish ⚡Caio Machado dismantles a tough opponent in just 58 seconds with a TKO 🥊#UAEW67 #UAEWarriors #inAbudhabi pic.twitter.com/pPzIuXYLft
— UAE Warriors (@uae_warriors) January 31, 2026
Despite being the UAE Warriors Intercontinental Featherweight Champion, Sylvester Chipfumbu 13-6 didn’t have his belt on the line in his co-main event scrap against Gustavo Ribeiro 7-2 and with the pressure off, the Zimbabwean showed once more that he remains in imperious form. Frustrating his Brazilian foe with technical counter-striking and a nuanced grappling offence, Chipfumbu was superior in all areas of the MMA skillset to take the judges unanimous decision. After his hand was raised, the Champion faced off with the man he beat to take the belt last year, Ali AlQaisi 16-9 as their rematch was announced for some time down the pipe this year.
The crowd were treated to one of the best flyweight fights in recent memory as Team Nurmagomedov standout Rashid Vagabov 15-2 returned for his fifth Warriors bout in need of a victory after getting chewed-out by Dana White for not finishing his recent Contender Series fight. However, multiple-times Alash Pride 125lb champ, Sanzhar Adilov 14-3 from Kazakhstan was not to be deterred from claiming the biggest scalp of his career as both went toe-to-toe over three breathtaking rounds. Despite either fighter’s grappling reputations, the bout took place mostly on the feet as the hand speed, mercurial footwork and devastating power of their kickboxing had the entire arena on tenterhooks. Vagabov took the split decision by the thinnest of margins and proceeded to jump over the cage to embrace head coach Khabib Nurmagomedov and current UFC Champion and teammate Islam Makhachev 28-1 whist the fan forums seem set to continue the heated debate of the outcome for many months to come.
A fight that was destined to stay off the judges’ scorecards was the frenzied contest between Bellator, PFL, ACA and ACB vet Mukhamed ‘Cherkes’ Berkhamov 18-4 and Vale Tudo specialist Jackson Loureiro 15-6-1. With the Brazilian stepping-in on just a few days’ notice and weighing-in on the day of his touchdown from Southern Brazil, the power and athleticism of the Russian’s striking proved too much as soon as the bell sounded and the referee stepped-in to call the fight with thirty seconds still left in the first.
In fact, there were five first-round finishes on the night, the best of which belonged to Dutch grappling prodigy Benita van Rooij 7-1 who wasted little time in taking Uzbek hand-to-hand combat specialist Zulfiya Kurbashova 3-4 down to the canvas. Failing to fight the hands clamping down on the rear-naked choke and refusing to tap, Kurbashova went to sleep and was immediately rescued by the referee who subsequently raised the hand of a very emotional Van Rooij.
In a good night for the veterans, Warriors fans witnessed the return of French Moroccan favourite, Sofiane Boukichou 13-9 who was having a hard time on the receiving end of the fists of Gadzhi Abdulkadirov 6-3 until a beautifully timed knee up the middle stunned the Russian who had no answer to the relentless onslaught of the follow-up strikes which forced the referee’s intervention midway through the second round.
Hot on the heels of a spectacular opening event of the year, CEO of Palms Sports and MD of UAE Warriors, Mr Fouad Darwish confirmed the next event scheduled to be a double-header of two nights of action in the ancient oasis city of Al Ain for UAE Warriors 68 and 69 on the 3rd and 4th of April following Eid al-Fitr. If the thrilling UAE Warriors 67 was anything to go by, it’s going to be the bumper year in the history of the Middle East’s first and biggest MMA promotion.
The entire UAE Warriors 67 Card results are:
Magomed Kurbanov defeats Khabib Gaziev by Unanimous DecisionAyissi Bessala defeats Ulugbek Rakhmonov by KO, 1.53m of Rd 1Murad Ibragimov defeats Enkhjargal Banzaragch by TKO, 4.13m of Rd 1Benita van Rooij defeats Zulfiya Kurbashova by Submission, 2.95m of Rd 1Yusup Magomedov defeats Sharapudin Ziyaudinov by Unanimous DecisionSofiane Boukichou defeats Gadzhi Abdulkadirov by TKO, 3.45m of Rd 2Magomed Tuchalov defeats Siyakudumiso Nomvemve by TKO, 0.43 of Rd 2Rony Henrique defeats Moris Boleyan by Split DecisionMukhamed Berkhamov defeats Jackson Loureiro by TKO, 4.28m of Rd 1Rashid Vagabov defeats Sanzhar Adilov by Split DecisionSylvester Chipfumbu defeats Gustavo Ribeiro by Unanimous DecisionCaio Machado defeats Tom Breese by TKO, 2.58 of Rd 1
.webp?ssl=1 "The state of play at Haas after three rounds of the 2026 season")
