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- Mairon Santos vs. Akbar Abdullaev: lightweight prelim preview at UFC Fight Night: Adesanya vs Magomedov
Mairon Santos vs. Akbar Abdullaev: lightweight prelim preview at UFC Fight Night: Adesanya vs Magomedov
Does either side bring a measurable edge into lightweight on the prelims at UFC Fight Night: Adesanya vs Magomedov on Dec 5, 2026? What our tape, archive and round-statistics tables can and cannot say.
- WMuhammad NaimovKO/TKO R3 · Dec 25
- WSodiq YusuffU-DEC R3 · May 25
- WFrancis MarshallS-DEC R3 · Mar 25
The setup
Mairon Santos (18-1-0) and Akbar Abdullaev (14-0-0) meet at lightweight on the prelims when UFC Fight Night: Adesanya vs Magomedov arrives at ANB Arena in Riyadh on Saturday, December 5, 2026, scheduled for three rounds.
Our schedule tables list 12 bouts on the card; this one is filed under the prelims. The bout is listed as announced in the PropBetEdge schedule.
The question this preview works through is simple: does either side bring a measurable edge, or is this a matchup the data leaves open? Career-to-date round statistics are on file for Mairon Santos only, and the archive holds 4 completed UFC bouts for Mairon Santos and 1 completed UFC bout for Akbar Abdullaev.
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Tale of the tape
- Record: Mairon Santos 18-1-0 · Akbar Abdullaev 14-0-0
- Age: Mairon Santos 26 · Akbar Abdullaev 29
- Height: Mairon Santos 5'7" · Akbar Abdullaev 5'7"
- Reach: Mairon Santos 72" · Akbar Abdullaev 70"
- Stance: Mairon Santos Orthodox · Akbar Abdullaev n/a
- Listed weight: Mairon Santos 147 lbs · Akbar Abdullaev 155 lbs
The 2-inch reach gap in Mairon Santos's favour (72" to 70") is the tape's headline number; it defines the range each man is working from. A gap under three inches is modest: enough to notice at kicking range, not enough on its own to change how the fight is fought. Listed weights differ: Akbar Abdullaev at 155 lbs to 147 for Mairon Santos. Listed weight is a roster figure, not a weigh-in, so it is a note rather than an edge.
Recent form
Our archive has 4 completed UFC bouts for Mairon Santos, 4 wins. 2 of those wins came inside the distance (2 by KO/TKO), a 50% finish rate on archived wins. He last fought on Dec 6, 2025 and beat Muhammad Naimov by KO/TKO in round 3. That puts him 364 days out by fight night.
- W vs Muhammad Naimov — KO/TKO, R3 (Dec 6, 2025, UFC 323: Dvalishvili vs. Yan 2)
- W vs Sodiq Yusuff — unanimous decision, R3 (May 17, 2025, UFC Fight Night: Burns vs. Morales)
- W vs Francis Marshall — split decision, R3 (Mar 8, 2025, UFC 313: Pereira vs. Ankalaev)
- W vs Kaan Ofli — KO/TKO, R2 (Aug 24, 2024, UFC Fight Night: Cannonier vs. Borralho)
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Updated PropBetEdge UFC Desk