5 takeaways from UFC Fight Night: Cory Sandhagen vs. Umar Nurmagomedov

The UFC visited Abu Dhabi last night for its latest event. Despite a distinct lack of finishes, the card provided some solid action overall.

UFC Fight Night: Cory Sandhagen vs. Umar Nurmagomedov saw some contenders rise up the ranks, while others fell dramatically.

So in the aftermath of this event, what are the major talking points out of Abu Dhabi?

Here are five takeaways from UFC Fight Night: Cory Sandhagen vs. Umar Nurmagomedov.

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#5 Joel Alvarez might be the lightweight division's new action hero

The UFC is not only home to the world's best fighters, it's also home to some of the most exciting. These action heroes are never likely to reach the top, but they're almost as important to the promotion as the best of the best, particularly when it comes to drawing interest in a lower-end show.

Over the past few years, the lightweight division's premier action hero has been Drew Dober. Win or lose, Dober always guaranteed a wild fight. However, as of late, his standards have slipped and he's now losing far more than he wins.

Last night, though, threw a new contender into the hat of potential successors to Dober's role.

In a $50k bonus-winning performance, Joel Alvarez turned out the lights on Elves Brener with serious ferocity. 'El Fenomeno' appeared to be one step ahead of his Brazilian foe throughout the bout, but it was the third round where he really unleashed.

A left hand set up a brutal series of knees to the head, and the salvo of shots eventually forced Brener to wilt, with the referee stepping in.

The win was Alvarez's sixth in the octagon, but more to the point, all 21 of his career victories have come via finish. Like Dober in his heyday, he's a fighter who ensures that the fans can't take their eyes off the octagon when he's in action.

Is it time for a step up in competition for him now? In all honesty, who cares. The matchmakers could put him with whoever they want and it appears that he'll deliver the goods.

It might not lead him to a UFC title, but it'll hopefully lead him to a long career - and plenty of bonus awards - and that's almost as important.

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#4 Mackenzie Dern can reach the top - but only with improved wrestling

When Mackenzie Dern was matched with Lupita Godinez for what seemed like a rebound fight last night, it felt like the UFC had maybe done her a favor.

Dern was coming off back-to-back losses, but on paper at least, was set to face a fighter who probably wouldn't be able to handle her on the feet and would likely struggle with her on the ground.

Unfortunately for Dern, while she ended up winning a tight decision, only one of those things was true.

The Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace indeed bossed Godinez on the ground, easily cutting through her defenses and coming close to submitting her in the first round with an armbar.

On the feet, though, 'Loopy' clearly got the better of things. She used her quicker punches to bloody Dern up, and while the grappler's chin held up and she did return fire, she would've lost a decision were it not for her ground work.

Dern is in an odd place in that there's basically nobody in the strawweight division who can match her on the mat. However, while her chin is great, her stand-up remains wild at best, and her takedowns still lag behind the rest of her game.

If she wants to reach the top, then, she probably needs to drill nothing but wrestling for the foreseeable future.

Give her the takedowns of, say, Julianna Pena or Tatiana Suarez and she'd basically be unstoppable. She'll probably never quite reach those levels, but even a marked improvement would probably vault her into UFC title contention.

Judging by last night's win, though, she isn't quite there just yet.

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#3 Deiveson Figueiredo may be the bantamweight division's dark horse

The performance that appeared to fly under the radar last night came from former flyweight king Deiveson Figueiredo.

He fought excellently and managed to outpoint former UFC title challenger Marlon Vera, even dropping the famously iron-chinned 'Chito' in the third round with a clean right hand.

Perhaps the best thing about Figueiredo's performance was the fact that he came through adversity to win. After a strong first round by 'Deus da Guerra', Vera turned up the heat big time in the second round.

Despite this, Figueiredo was never phased and fought fire with fire, outstriking 'Chito' throughout the third round for the win.

Given that Vera was ranked at No.4 in the UFC prior to this fight, it's likely that Figueiredo will crash into the top five next week. Given his overall skills, he's undoubtedly the bantamweight division's dark horse, and might even have a claim on a title shot.

He'll probably need one more win to get there, but it's safe to say that the former flyweight champion's move to 135 pounds has already gone far better than most fans were expecting.

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#2 The UFC needs to cut ties with Tony Ferguson - even if he wants to continue fighting

Given that he came into last night's event on the back of a seven-fight losing streak, Tony Ferguson's clash with Michael Chiesa was always likely to be a hard watch.

In the end, 'El Cucuy' suffered his eighth loss in a row, and just as many suspected, it came in one-sided fashion.

After some feeling-out strikes, it didn't take long for Chiesa to secure a takedown - something that would've been tricky to land on a prime Ferguson. From there, 'Maverick' advanced to the back, secured a body triangle, and followed with a fight-ending rear naked choke.

However, after seemingly teasing retirement by leaving one glove in the octagon, Ferguson appeared to have second thoughts literally moments later.

Following this, 'El Cucuy' even went as far as to suggest that if the UFC didn't want him, he'd continue to fight elsewhere.

That idea is concerning to say the least. Unfortunately, nobody can make that decision but Ferguson himself.

However, in this case, the UFC ought to cut ties with 'El Cucuy' if he wishes to continue. Any promoter with compassion would not book him again, purely for his own sake. Induct him into the Hall of Fame, sure, but don't let him into the octagon again. After eight losses in a row, enough should be enough.

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#1 Umar Nurmagomedov is ready for a UFC bantamweight title shot

The biggest question going into last night's event hung around Umar Nurmagomedov.

The unbeaten 'Young Eagle' had climbed to the top fifteen at 135 pounds after going unbeaten across 17 fights, including five fights in the UFC.

However, he'd never truly been tested against an elite-level fighter, meaning his bout with Cory Sandhagen was a difficult one to pick.

After all, only three fighters had ever beaten 'The Sandman' in the octagon, and all three - Petr Yan, TJ Dillashaw and Aljamain Sterling - were either former or future bantamweight titleholders.

The fight, though, proved that Nurmagomedov belongs firmly in that group of fighters. He broke down Sandhagen over five rounds, mixing in his striking with his takedowns perfectly and basically won every round without ever being in danger.

Sure, he didn't finish 'The Sandman', but neither did peak Yan. Essentially, this was the kind of performance that should be enough to net Nurmagomedov the next bantamweight title shot.

Can he emulate his cousin Khabib Nurmagomedov and become the man to dethrone either Sean O'Malley or Merab Dvalishvili, claiming bantamweight gold?

Only time will tell, but this was a truly eye-opening performance from 'Young Eagle'. There are no more questions that need to be answered: he's ready for a title shot.