Mohammad Yahya represents the United Arab Emirates, but the home crowd advantage didn’t help him get by Steven Nguyen on Saturday in Abu Dhabi.
Yahya showed his heart and perseverance; however, Nguyen set a new record for most knockdowns in a single UFC bout by registering six in a technical knockout victory.
Nguyen knocked Yahya down a whopping five times in the opening round, including 10 seconds into the fight.
Nguyen landed 59 significant strikes — 47 of which were to the head — in Round 1, yet despite the frequent knockdowns, referee Jason Herzog allowed the fight to continue.
Yahya somehow made it out of the first round and actually managed to briefly rock Nguyen with a right hand early in Round 2 before getting dropped again.
Nguyen, 32, fighting out of Dallas, continued his onslaught and knocked Yahya to the ground a couple of additional times, but they were considered slips and not counted as official knockdowns.
The bout was finally called off after the second round via doctor's stoppage, with Yahya’s left eye completely swollen shut, and Nguyen earned his first UFC victory.
Nguyen signed a contract with the UFC in 2023 after his third appearance on Dana White’s Contender Series but lost his debut in his lone 2024 appearance.
Yahya, 31, fell to 0-3 at the UFC level after debuting in the organization in 2023.
The previous record of five knockdowns in a single fight was held by both Jeremy Stephens and Forrest Petz.
Petz initially set the record against Sammy Morgan in 2006, and Stephens tied it in his win over Gilbert Melendez in 2017.
