Rizvan Kuniev defeats Tyrell Fortune by KO/TKO
Kuniev vs Fortune — Heavyweight · Ankalaev vs. Guskov
What happened
The result, the defining moments, and what the verdict means.
Kuniev hurt Fortune on the feet multiple times.
He showed control and defensive wrestling in the clinch.
Kuniev closed the fight early in round three with strikes.
- Official UFC resultsUFC Abu Dhabi — Main Card Results
Who Called It?
How the analysts' picks held up once the cage door closed.
Analyst picks: DFS By The Numbers Hit; AJ Hit; Michael Chiesa Hit; JakeGerberMMA Hit; HopperoMMA Hit; Bedtime MMA Hit; We Want Picks Miss.
All 7 analyst scorecardsWinner, method and round results7 scored · 6 hits · 1 miss
| Predicted by | Pick | Actual | Winner | Method | Round |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Historic market Favourite call, market price 76.5%. Kuniev · Dec | Kuniev · KO/TKO R3 | Hit | Miss | Not called | |
| Backs Kuniev's cardio, volume and control of where the fight takes place over three rounds. Track record: winner called in 77 of 112 resolved picks. | |||||
| Historic market Favourite call, market price 76.5%. Kuniev · Dec | Kuniev · KO/TKO R3 | Hit | Miss | Not called | |
| Expects Kuniev's positional control and second- and third-round striking to overcome Fortune's early power and wrestling threat. Track record: winner called in 75 of 109 resolved picks. | |||||
| Historic market Favourite call, market price 76.5%. Kuniev · Dec | Kuniev · KO/TKO R3 | Hit | Miss | Not called | |
| Favors Kuniev's pocket combinations and knees against Fortune's wrestling entries, but does not expect Fortune to be stopped. Track record: winner called in 29 of 42 resolved picks. | |||||
| Historic market Favourite call, market price 76.5%. Kuniev · to win | Kuniev · KO/TKO R3 | Hit | Not called | Not called | |
| Names Rizvan Kuniev as the full-card pick in this preview. Track record: winner called in 60 of 90 resolved picks. | |||||
| Historic market Favourite call, market price 76.5%. Kuniev · to win | Kuniev · KO/TKO R3 | Hit | Not called | Not called | |
| Names Rizvan Kuniev as the full-card pick in this preview. Track record: winner called in 58 of 92 resolved picks. | |||||
| Historic market Favourite call, market price 76.5%. Kuniev · to win | Kuniev · KO/TKO R3 | Hit | Not called | Not called | |
| Names Rizvan Kuniev as the full-card pick in this preview. Track record: winner called in 83 of 126 resolved picks. | |||||
| Historic market Underdog call, market price 23.5%. Fortune · to win | Kuniev · KO/TKO R3 | Miss | Not applicable — the winner call missed | Not applicable — the winner call missed | |
| Picks Tyrell Fortune as the stronger striker with the wrestling to create his own entries. Track record: winner called in 79 of 121 resolved picks. | |||||
6 of 7 nailed it.
The experts above are a lens, not credentials we conferred — analyst, fighter or betting desk.
Archive Pre-fight material — kept for transparency.
- 13-3-1
- Record
- 18-3-0
- 3-1 (1 NC) last 5
- Recent formRecent formWin–loss record over the fighter’s last five bouts, newest first, as carried in their UFC/FightMetric career stats.
- 4-1 last 5
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- StanceStanceWhich side a fighter leads from — a striking term, not a religious one. Orthodox: right-handed, left foot and hand forward (the common default). Southpaw: the mirror image, right side forward (usually a left-hander). Switch: changes between the two during a fight.
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- Sig. strikes absorbed / minAbsorbed / minSignificant strikes absorbed per minuteAverage number of significant strikes a fighter takes for every minute of fight time. Lower is better — it means they get hit less often. From UFC/FightMetric career stats.
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- Striking defenseStrike def.Striking defenseThe percentage of opponents’ significant strikes that do not land — strikes slipped, blocked or evaded. Higher is better. Not the same as striking accuracy, which counts your own strikes that land. From UFC/FightMetric.
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- Takedown defenseTD def.Takedown defenseThe percentage of opponents’ takedown attempts that are stuffed. Higher means harder to put on the mat. From UFC/FightMetric.
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- Avg. fight timeAvg. timeAverage fight timeThe mean length of the fighter’s bouts (minutes:seconds) — a rough read on whether they tend to finish early or go the distance. From UFC/FightMetric.
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- Russia
- Nationality
- United States
- American Top Team
- Team
- Arizona Combat Sports
Career stats per UFC.com; recent form is each fighter's last five bouts. Numbers reflect records coming into fight night. Bars compare each stat on a fixed scale; the “Edge” marker flags the leading corner where the gap is meaningful. The snapshot plots five career rates — output, striking defense, durability (strikes absorbed, inverted), takedown defense and finish rate — each normalised on its own scale.
Pre-fight analysis — how we saw it going in
Case for Kuniev
Kuniev arrives on the best win of his career — a decision over Jailton Almeida — and a competitive split-decision loss to Curtis Blaydes that proved he belongs with the division's wrestlers. The American Top Team heavyweight blends real grappling with finishing power, and he has faced the sterner recent schedule of the two.
Case for Fortune
Fortune is the wrestler with knockout power stacked on top. Eleven of his eighteen wins are knockouts, he is 4-1 in his last five, and he out-pointed Marcin Tybura in his most recent UFC outing. If he lands his right hand or wins the grappling exchanges, he is capable of closing the show quickly at 35.
What We Were Watching For
- Two wrestlers: neither man wants to give up top position — whose grappling wins the exchanges?
- Kuniev's momentum: he just beat Jailton Almeida — does that form carry against another heavy hitter?
- Fortune's power: eleven knockouts and a fast right hand — one clean shot ends a heavyweight fight.
- Cardio at heavyweight: if the finish does not come, whose gas tank holds up across three rounds?
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