A lightweight title defense will headline UAE Warriors 36 by Bruno Machado against Martun Mezhlumyan. It marks a promotion to return to the Middle East region. The event will take place on February 25th in Etihad Arena on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi.
Bruno Machado’s boxing stint
This also will be the Brazilian return to the MMA competition. Most recently he competed against Anderson Silva back in May 2022. This boxing exhibition bout was declared a time-limit draw. This was a warm-up for ‘The Spider’ preparing him for his return to the boxing competition circuit. For “Cavaeira” it was a sole dip into the world of boxing.
Bruno Machado vs. Martin Mezhlumyan
The champion has a 15 – 9 MMA record and is riding a six-fight winning streak that goes back to 2013. He’s unbeaten inside the UAE Warriors cage. He stacked up a four-fight winning series in the promotion, grabbing championship gold in the process. However, he took his time between the bouts, leading to a few breaks lasting more than a year.
Mezhiumyan sports a 14 – 3 record and also enjoy a two – fight winning streak of his own. He won four out of the last five of his fights. The Armenian’s sole loss inside the UAE Warriors cage came against current Bellator fighter, Islam Mamedov. He was more frequent with his fight schedule, often competing a few months after a previous bout.
Fight preview
The Brazilian is a finisher with a tendency to knock his opponents mainly in the very first round. He achieved it on five different occasions. He also has a sole submission win as he submitted Mike Santiago at UAE Warriors 12 with an anaconda choke. Due to most of his fighting career taking part in a regional circuit in Brazil, little is known about most of his bouts. His sole recorded loss was a TKO stoppage by Gleristone Santos.
Much more is known about Mezhiumyan’s record as he’s a Russian circuit veteran. Like his opponent, he has 5 stoppages to his name, mainly in the first outing. The Armenian also has two submissions and two decision victories. Interestingly enough all of his three defeats were secured with a tap out.
This bout looks to be an explosive affair. Taking both fighters’ records into consideration it’s easy to predict that they will look to finish it as soon as possible with their strikes. However, the Brazilian may also take notice of Mezhiumyan’s vulnerability to submission and surprise him with a joint lock or choke attempt.
