UAE Warriors doubleheader puts lightweight gold on line

ABU DHABI — Armenian veteran Martun Mezhlumyan will fight unbeaten Ukrainian combat sambo standout Vladislav Rudnev for the 155-pound lightweight title in the main event of UAE Warriors 71 on Saturday at Space 42 Arena in Abu Dhabi.

The title bout closes a two-night UAE Warriors doubleheader that begins Friday with UAE Warriors 70, headlined by a heavyweight clash between Moroccan contender Badr Medkouri and Brazil’s Eduardo Neves.

UAE Warriors’ official listings show UAEW70: Badr Medkouri vs. Eduardo Neves on May 8, 2026, and UAEW71: Martun Mezhlumyan vs. Vladislav Rudnev on May 9, 2026, both in Abu Dhabi at Space42 Arena.

Mezhlumyan, who holds a 15-3 record, is set to challenge for the belt after a six-year run in UAE Warriors, the biggest mixed martial arts promotion in the Middle East.

The Armenian has campaigned for a title shot through a string of finishes and now faces Rudnev, a 12-0 fighter from Kharkiv, Ukraine.

Rudnev, nicknamed “Honey” because of his smooth style and fondness for the sweet stuff in the cage, has dispatched all of his professional opponents through a mix of pinpoint technical striking and power-based offensive grappling.

The fight is the biggest of Rudnev’s career and comes against his toughest opponent to date.

The Saturday co-main event features Bruno Machado, a former UAE Warriors lightweight champion and one of the promotion’s leading names, against Turkmen fighter Bakhtiyar Orazgeldyev.

Machado, who carries a 19-9 record, is undefeated in eight UAE Warriors appearances and is known as a fast starter with dangerous kickboxing and a highly regarded jiu-jitsu game.

Orazgeldyev, who is 7-1, is billed as the “Turkmen Tank” and brings a granite chin, a run of first-round knockouts and a grappling defense that has frustrated and punished past opponents.

The Friday card at UAE Warriors 70 will be led by Medkouri, a Marseille-based heavyweight with a 9-2 record, against Neves, an 8-3 fighter from Paraiba, Brazil.

Medkouri, known as “Dastan,” stands 6 feet, 4 inches and has earned eight of his nine wins by knockout.

His most notable finish came in 41 seconds at UAE Warriors 52.

Neves has never gone the distance in his professional career and has held both CFC and LFA gold.

The Brazilian enters the matchup with a reputation built on a heavy right hook and punishing ground-and-pound.

Friday’s co-main event will feature Zimbabwe’s Sylvester Chipfumbu, the UAE Warriors Intercontinental Featherweight champion, against Cage Fury champion Vilson Ndregjoni.

Chipfumbu, who is 13-6, will not defend his belt in the featherweight matchup.

The “Gladiator” from Gweru has stopped Fernandes, Boumri and Mando in dominant UAE Warriors victories and will enter the promotion’s Octagon for the eighth time.

Ndregjoni, an 11-5 Albanian southpaw, is coming off a first-round head-kick knockout at UAE Warriors 57 and is expected to pressure the African prospect early.

The two cards feature 38 fighters representing 24 nations across 19 scheduled bouts.

The doubleheader also comes as UAE Warriors prepares to add more events in 2026 following a newly signed deal with UFC Fight Pass.

The full UAE Warriors 70 and 71 cards are as follows:

UAE Warriors 70 

Middleweight Amirchupan Taygibov 1-0 vs Khusankhoja Nurmukhammedov 2-0

Flyweight Ata Atdayev 5-0 vs Dzhafar Nuraliev 4-1

BantamweightCleiver Fernandes 9-2 vs Sirozhiddin Bekmurodov 7-2

Welterweight Evgeny Morozov 10-2 vs Magomedkhabib Ramazanov 5-1

Middlweight Magomed Kurbanov 3-0 vs Sardor Babayanov 5-2

Catchweight Bauyrzhan Kuanyshbayev 19-7 vs Pedro Oliveira 10-4

Flyweight Flobater Fares 3-0 vs Elorde Jr. Malanao Sandigon 6-1

Lightweight Ramazan Ragimov 6-0 vs Alexey Budrin 5-1

Featherweight Sylvester Chipfumbu 13-6 vs Vilson Ndregjoni 11-5

Heavyweight Badr Medkouri 9-2 vs Eduardo Neves 8-3

UAE Warriors 71

Bantamweight Ridouan Errami 4-0 vs Ruel Pañales 6-3

Middleweight Ayissi Bessala 2-0 vs Siyaku Dumiso 5-4

Strawweight Fabiola Pidroni 7-3 vs Anna Safeeva 5-1

Heavyweight Aslankhan Akhmedov 2-1 vs Seung Jun Lee 7-8

Light Heavyweight Muhammad Said 8-0 vs Luis Henrique da Silva 20-11

Featherweight Jaures Dea 12-7 vs Sergo Aleksanyan 5-1

Bantamweight Ullubiy Amirzhanov 6-0 vs Bruno Rocha 6-1

Catchweight Bruno Machado 19-9 vs Bakhtiyar Orazgeldyev 7-1

Lightweight Title Martun Mezhlumyan 15-3 vs Vladislav Rudnev 12-0