Abubakar Vagaev vs Magomedrrasul Gasanov signed for UFC Abu Dhabi on July 25

Abubakar Vagaev and Magomedrrasul Gasanov have both been signed to the UFC and will face each other in their promotional debuts on July 25 in Abu Dhabi. The signing represents a significant shift, as top ACA fighters historically struggled to transition to the UFC, but Vagaev and Gasanov succeeded through high-level connections—Khamzat Chimaev helped sign Vagaev, while Khabib Nurmagomedov and Islam Makhachev facilitated Gasanov's contract. Despite being grappling-heavy fighters, which UFC President Dana White typically dislikes, their connections enabled the signings. The bout will be three rounds and likely placed on the preliminary card, though it has generated significant buzz in Russian-speaking MMA communities. Both Chimaev and Khabib are expected to corner their respective fighters.