ABU DHABI – Sedriques Dumas beat Abu Azaitar with a unanimous decision Saturday on the preliminary card at UFC 294 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.
Take a look inside the fight with Dumas, who won for the second straight time after a loss in his UFC debut in March.
Abu Azaitar vs. Sedriques Dumas
Result: Sedriques Dumas def. Abu Azaitar via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Updated records: Dumas (9-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC), Azaitar (14-4-1 MMA, 1-2 UFC)
Key stats: Although Azaitar landed more strikes overall, Dumas landed his at a higher percentage and also had more than four minutes of control time in the fight.
Dumas on the fight's key moment
“I was looking for the finish, but if the finish ain’t there, I’m not going to f*cking put myself in a bad position to get knocked out, submitted. I kept my composure. When he caught my kick and threw an overhand a few times at me, you know, ‘Oh, go straight to your jiu-jitsu and your wrestling. Fight back. Boom boom boom boom boom.’ And that’s what I told myself.”
Dumas on Azaitar's hair pulling
“Yes, he pulled my hair on a few occasions, but I … you know, it’s part of the sport. I just kept my composure. That’s what really pissed me off when he did that. I just had to keep my composure because I was surprised. I just went with the flow. I’m a striker, but if it doesn’t go how I want to plan it in my mind, I’m going to just go with the flow. I’m going to have to just keep my same 1s and 2s, 3s and 4s in a row, because as soon as I start misplacing stuff, it’s just going to go down.”
Dumas on his original booking with Azaitar
“I had to keep my composure because a lot of people don’t know that me and Abu were scheduled to fight probably eight months ago. And I did let my anger get a little bit over me. I had to remember, ‘Hey man, you let your anger get over you, you’re going to get caught by something.’ That’s what happened in the first round. I let my anger get a little bit over me in the first round and he caught me. But I wasn’t dazed. I wasn’t stunned. It catches you off guard, and that was it.”
To hear more from Dumas, check out the video of the full post-fight interview above.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 294.
