Phoenix 6 Abu Dhabi hosted a big fight card co-headlined by a hugely anticipated welterweight bout pitting former UFC fighter Hayder Hassan against veteran Mixed Martial Artist Pavel Kusch with both fighters battling it out for what resulted into a welterweight title shot opportunity. Hayder Hassan will now face Claudio Cezario at Phoenix 9 with the welterweight gold on the line.

HAYDER HASSAN VS. CLAUDIO CEZARIO FOR PHOENIX WELTERWEIGHT TITLE

Ultimately, after 3 rounds full of back and forth action between both competitors, Hassan was able to walk away with a unanimous decision victory that granted him a this opportunity.
Through most of the contest, Kusch was repetitively attempting to grapple with Hassan and get the fight to the ground, often shooting in for a low single on his opponent’s lead leg. Though he was initially successful, throwing Hassan down, taking his back and clinching in a seatbelt, Hassan’s takedown defense and scrambles proved to be overwhelming for Kusch who couldn’t keep the fight on the ground for a long time. Also, Kusch wasn’t really able to land anything significant that threatened Hassan in any way while he was on top. Eventually, the former UFC fighter was able to demotivate his opponent in the striking area of the fight, out-landing Kusch by delivering multiple heavy shots, even rocking him hard in the last round. Though the fight was entertaining and tightly contested, Hassan did enough to walk away with the decision in the eyes of all 3 judges scoring the fight.